TERMS STARTING WITH
entablature ::: n. --> The superstructure which lies horizontally upon the columns. See Illust. of Column, Cornice.
entablement ::: n. --> See Entablature.
entackle ::: v. t. --> To supply with tackle.
entad ::: adv. --> Toward the inside or central part; away from the surface; -- opposed to ectad.
entailed ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entail
entailing ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entail
entailment: A relation between sentences in meta-logic.
entailment ::: n. --> The act of entailing or of giving, as an estate, and directing the mode of descent.
The condition of being entailed.
A thing entailed.
entail ::: n. --> That which is entailed.
An estate in fee entailed, or limited in descent to a particular class of issue.
The rule by which the descent is fixed.
Delicately carved ornamental work; intaglio.
To settle or fix inalienably on a person or thing, or on a person and his descendants or a certain line of descendants; -- said especially of an estate; to bestow as an heritage.
ental ::: a. --> Pertaining to, or situated near, central or deep parts; inner; -- opposed to ectal.
ental Magic, an angel of the sefiroth invoked in
entame ::: v. t. --> To tame.
entangled ::: 1. Ensnarled; intertwined; enmeshed. 2. Confused or perplexed. entangling, entanglement, star-entangled.
entangled ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entangle
entanglement ::: n. --> State of being entangled; intricate and confused involution; that which entangles; intricacy; perplexity.
entangler ::: n. --> One that entangles.
entangle ::: v. t. --> To twist or interweave in such a manner as not to be easily separated; to make tangled, confused, and intricate; as, to entangle yarn or the hair.
To involve in such complications as to render extrication a bewildering difficulty; hence, metaphorically, to insnare; to perplex; to bewilder; to puzzle; as, to entangle the feet in a net, or in briers.
entangling ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entangle
ent- ::: --> A prefix signifying within. See Ento-.
entasia ::: n. --> Tonic spasm; -- applied generically to denote any disease characterized by tonic spasms, as tetanus, trismus, etc.
entasis ::: n. --> A slight convex swelling of the shaft of a column.
Same as Entasia.
entassment ::: n. --> A heap; accumulation.
entastic ::: a. --> Relating to any disease characterized by tonic spasms.
ententive ::: a. --> Attentive; zealous.
entelechy ::: n. --> An actuality; a conception completely actualized, in distinction from mere potential existence.
entellus ::: n. --> An East Indian long-tailed bearded monkey (Semnopithecus entellus) regarded as sacred by the natives. It is remarkable for the caplike arrangement of the hair on the head. Called also hoonoomaun and hungoor.
entender ::: v. t. --> To make tender.
To treat with tenderness.
entend ::: v. i. --> To attend to; to apply one&
enteradenography ::: n. --> A treatise upon, or description of, the intestinal glands.
enteradenology ::: n. --> The science which treats of the glands of the alimentary canal.
enteralgia ::: n. --> Pain in the intestines; colic.
enter- ::: --> A prefix signifying between, among, part.
enterdeal ::: n. --> Mutual dealings; intercourse.
entered ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Enter
enterer ::: n. --> One who makes an entrance or beginning.
enteric ::: a. --> Of or pertaining to the enteron, or alimentary canal; intestinal.
entering ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Enter
enteritis ::: n. --> An inflammation of the intestines.
enterlace ::: v. t. --> See Interlace.
entermete ::: v. i. --> To interfere; to intermeddle.
entermewer ::: n. --> A hawk gradually changing the color of its feathers, commonly in the second year.
entermise ::: n. --> Mediation.
enterocele ::: n. --> A hernial tumor whose contents are intestine.
enterocoele ::: n. --> A perivisceral cavity which arises as an outgrowth or outgrowths from the digestive tract; distinguished from a schizocoele, which arises by a splitting of the mesoblast of the embryo.
enterography ::: n. --> A treatise upon, or description of, the intestines; enterology.
enterolith ::: n. --> An intestinal concretion.
enterology ::: n. --> The science which treats of the viscera of the body.
enteron ::: n. --> The whole alimentary, or enteric, canal.
enteropathy ::: n. --> Disease of the intestines.
enteropneusta ::: n. pl. --> A group of wormlike invertebrates having, along the sides of the body, branchial openings for the branchial sacs, which are formed by diverticula of the alimentary canal. Balanoglossus is the only known genus. See Illustration in Appendix.
enterorrhaphy ::: n. --> The operation of sewing up a rent in the intestinal canal.
enterotome ::: n. --> A kind of scissors used for opening the intestinal canal, as in post-mortem examinations.
enterotomy ::: n. --> Incision of the intestines, especially in reducing certain cases of hernia.
enterparlance ::: n. --> Mutual talk or conversation; conference.
enterplead ::: v. i. --> Same as Interplead.
enterprise "body" A business, generally a large one. (1994-11-22)
enterprise ::: (body) A business, generally a large one. (1994-11-22)
enterprise ::: n. --> That which is undertaken; something attempted to be performed; a work projected which involves activity, courage, energy, and the like; a bold, arduous, or hazardous attempt; an undertaking; as, a manly enterprise; a warlike enterprise.
Willingness or eagerness to engage in labor which requires boldness, promptness, energy, and like qualities; as, a man of great enterprise.
enterpriser ::: n. --> One who undertakes enterprises.
enterprising ::: a. --> Having a disposition for enterprise; characterized by enterprise; resolute, active or prompt to attempt; as, an enterprising man or firm.
entertain as possible or desirable, since Satan and his angels have been cursed by the Savior
entertained ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entertain
entertainer ::: n. --> One who entertains.
entertaining ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entertain ::: a. --> Affording entertainment; pleasing; amusing; diverting.
entertainment ::: n. --> The act of receiving as host, or of amusing, admitting, or cherishing; hospitable reception; also, reception or treatment, in general.
That which entertains, or with which one is entertained; as: (a) Hospitality; hospitable provision for the wants of a guest; especially, provision for the table; a hospitable repast; a feast; a formal or elegant meal. (b) That which engages the attention agreeably, amuses or diverts, whether in private, as by conversation,
entertain ::: v. t. --> To be at the charges of; to take or keep in one&
entertake ::: v. t. --> To entertain.
entertissued ::: a. --> Same as Intertissued.
enter ::: v. t. --> To come or go into; to pass into the interior of; to pass within the outer cover or shell of; to penetrate; to pierce; as, to enter a house, a closet, a country, a door, etc.; the river enters the sea.
To unite in; to join; to be admitted to; to become a member of; as, to enter an association, a college, an army.
To engage in; to become occupied with; as, to enter the legal profession, the book trade, etc.
entheal ::: a. --> Alt. of Enthean
enthean ::: a. --> Divinely inspired; wrought up to enthusiasm.
entheasm ::: n. --> Inspiration; enthusiasm.
entheastic ::: a. --> Of godlike energy; inspired.
entheat ::: a. --> Divinely inspired.
entheic ::: a. --> Caused by a morbifie virus implanted in the system; as, an enthetic disease like syphilis.
enthelmintha ::: n. pl. --> Alt. of Enthelminthes
enthelminthes ::: n. pl. --> Intestinal worms. See Helminthes.
enthrallment ::: n. --> The act of enthralling, or state of being enthralled. See Inthrallment.
enthrall ::: v. t. --> To hold in thrall; to enslave. See Inthrall.
enthrill ::: v. t. --> To pierce; to thrill.
enthroned ::: seated on a throne; raised to a lofty position; exalted.
enthronement ::: n. --> The act of enthroning, or state of being enthroned.
enthrone ::: v. t. --> To seat on a throne; to exalt to the seat of royalty or of high authority; hence, to invest with sovereign authority or dignity.
To induct, as a bishop, into the powers and privileges of a vacant see.
enthronization ::: n. --> The act of enthroning; hence, the admission of a bishop to his stall or throne in his cathedral.
enthronized ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Enthronize
enthronize ::: v. t. --> To place on a throne; hence, to induct into office, as a bishop.
enthronizing ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Enthronize
enthuse ::: v. t. & i. --> To make or become enthusiastic.
enthusiasm ::: great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause.
enthusiasm ::: n. --> Inspiration as if by a divine or superhuman power; ecstasy; hence, a conceit of divine possession and revelation, or of being directly subject to some divine impulse.
A state of impassioned emotion; transport; elevation of fancy; exaltation of soul; as, the poetry of enthusiasm.
Enkindled and kindling fervor of soul; strong excitement of feeling on behalf of a cause or a subject; ardent and imaginative zeal or interest; as, he engaged in his profession with
enthusiast ::: ardent; eager; fervent; impassioned. (Sri Aurobindo employs the word as a synonym for enthusiastic.)
enthusiastic ::: a. --> Alt. of Enthusiastical ::: n. --> An enthusiast; a zealot.
enthusiastical ::: a. --> Filled with enthusiasm; characterized by enthusiasm; zealous; as, an enthusiastic lover of art.
enthusiast ::: n. --> One moved or actuated by enthusiasm; as: (a) One who imagines himself divinely inspired, or possessed of some special revelation; a religious madman; a fanatic. (b) One whose mind is wholly possessed and heated by what engages it; one who is influenced by a peculiar; fervor of mind; an ardent and imaginative person.
enthusiast speed
enthymematic ::: a. --> Alt. of Enthymematical
enthymematical ::: a. --> Pertaining to, or of the form of, an enthymeme.
enthymeme ::: n. --> An argument consisting of only two propositions, an antecedent and consequent deduced from it; a syllogism with one premise omitted; as, We are dependent; therefore we should be humble. Here the major proposition is suppressed. The complete syllogism would be, Dependent creatures should be humble; we are dependent creatures; therefore we should be humble.
enticeable ::: a. --> Capable of being enticed.
enticed ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entice
enticement ::: n. --> The act or practice of alluring or tempting; as, the enticements of evil companions.
That which entices, or incites to evil; means of allurement; alluring object; as, an enticement to sin.
enticer ::: n. --> One who entices; one who incites or allures to evil.
entice ::: v. t. --> To draw on, by exciting hope or desire; to allure; to attract; as, the bait enticed the fishes. Often in a bad sense: To lead astray; to induce to evil; to tempt; as, the sirens enticed them to listen.
enticing ::: leading on by exciting hope or desire; alluring.
enticingly ::: adv. --> In an enticing manner; charmingly.
enticing ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entice ::: a. --> That entices; alluring.
entierty ::: n. --> See Entirety.
entire ::: a. --> Complete in all parts; undivided; undiminished; whole; full and perfect; not deficient; as, the entire control of a business; entire confidence, ignorance.
Without mixture or alloy of anything; unqualified; morally whole; pure; faithful.
Consisting of a single piece, as a corolla.
Having an evenly continuous edge, as a leaf which has no kind of teeth.
entire function: A complex valued function that is holomorphic over all complex numbers.
entire ::: having no part excluded or left out; whole.
entirely ::: adv. --> In an entire manner; wholly; completely; fully; as, the trace is entirely lost.
Without alloy or mixture; truly; sincerely.
entireness ::: n. --> The state or condition of being entire; completeness; fullness; totality; as, the entireness of an arch or a bridge.
Integrity; wholeness of heart; honesty.
Oneness; unity; -- applied to a condition of intimacy or close association. ::: pl.
entirety ::: n. --> The state of being entire; completeness; as, entirely of interest.
That which is entire; the whole.
entitative ::: a. --> Considered as pure entity; abstracted from all circumstances.
entities ::: pl. --> of Entity
entitled ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entitle
entitle ::: v. t. --> To give a title to; to affix to as a name or appellation; hence, also, to dignify by an honorary designation; to denominate; to call; as, to entitle a book "Commentaries;" to entitle a man "Honorable."
To give a claim to; to qualify for, with a direct object of the person, and a remote object of the thing; to furnish with grounds for seeking or claiming with success; as, an officer&
entitling ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entitle
entitule ::: v. t. --> To entitle.
entity "database" In an {entity-relationship model}, an entity is a type of thing being modeled such as "person" or "product". Different entities have different sets of attributes such as "name" or "price" and are connected via relationships like "bought". Entities are closely related to {classes (class)}. (2009-11-22)
entity dwelling in the Pleroma with his 12 Just
entity ::: n. --> A real being, whether in thought (as an ideal conception) or in fact; being; essence; existence.
entity-relationship diagram ::: entity-relationship model
entity-relationship diagram "data, database, specification" A visual representation of an {entity-relationship model}. An entity-relationship diagram has a box for each entity, containing its properties, and lines between boxes for relationships. The ends of the lines are labelled to show the type of relationship - one-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-many. (2019-11-03)
entity-relationship model ::: (database, specification) An approach to data modelling proposed by P. Chen in 1976. The model says that you divide your database in two logical parts, entities (e.g. customer, product) and relations (buys, pays for).Entity-relationship diagrams can be used to represent a model.[The entity-relationship model: toward a unified view of data, P.P. Chen, ACM Transactions on Database Systems 1:1 pp 9-36, 1976]. (1998-03-20)
entity-relationship model "data, database, specification" The most common kind of {data modelling}, proposed by {P. Chen} in 1976, in which a database is divided into "entities" and "relations". Part of capturing the {requirements} of an {application} is defining the entities involved and their relationships. Together, these form an entity-relationship model. Entities are the kinds of things or concepts the application deals with, e.g. products, customers, sales transactions. A relationship connects two entities and says how many instances of each participate in the relationship - one-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-many. Entities and some relationships correspond to database {tables}. A table corresponding to a relationship is also known as a "join table" after the {join} database operation. A model is represented graphically as an {entity-relationship diagram}. ["The entity-relationship model: toward a unified view of data", P.P. Chen, ACM Transactions on Database Systems 1:1 pp 9-36, 1976]. (2019-11-03)
entity ::: something having real or distinct existence. **Entity, entities.
ento- ::: --> A combining form signifying within; as, entoblast.
entoblast ::: n. --> The inner germ layer; endoderm. See Nucleolus.
entobronchia ::: pl. --> of Entobronchium
entobronchium ::: n. --> One of the main bronchi in the lungs of birds.
entocuneiform ::: n. --> Alt. of Entocuniform
entocuniform ::: n. --> One of the bones of the tarsus. See Cuneiform.
entodermal ::: a. --> Alt. of Entodermic
entodermic ::: a. --> Relating to the entoderm.
entoderm ::: n. --> See Endoderm, and Illust. of Blastoderm.
entogastric ::: a. --> Pertaining to the interior of the stomach; -- applied to a mode of budding from the interior of the gastric cavity, in certain hydroids.
entogenous ::: a. --> See Endogenous.
entoglossal ::: a. --> Within the tongue; -- applied to the glossohyal bone.
entoiled ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entoil
entoiling ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entoil
entoil ::: v. t. --> To take with toils or bring into toils; to insnare.
entombed ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entomb
entombing ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entomb
entombment ::: n. --> The act of entombing or burying, or state of being entombed; burial.
entomb ::: to place in or as if in a tomb; bury; inter. entombed, entombing.
entomb ::: v. t. --> To deposit in a tomb, as a dead body; to bury; to inter; to inhume.
entomere ::: n. --> The more granular cells, which finally become internal, in many segmenting ova, as those of mammals.
entomic ::: a. --> Alt. of Entomical
entomical ::: a. --> Relating to insects; entomological.
entomoid ::: a. --> Resembling an insect. ::: n. --> An object resembling an insect.
entomolin ::: n. --> See Chitin.
entomolite ::: n. --> A fossil insect.
entomologic ::: a. --> Alt. of Entomological
entomological ::: a. --> Of or relating to entomology.
entomologies ::: pl. --> of Entomology
entomologist ::: n. --> One versed in entomology.
entomologize ::: v. i. --> To collect specimens in the study of entomology.
entomology ::: n. --> That part of zoology which treats of insects.
A treatise on the science of entomology.
entomophagan ::: a. --> Relating to the Entomophaga. ::: n. --> One of the Entomophaga.
entomophaga ::: n. pl. --> One of a group of hymenopterous insects whose larvae feed parasitically upon living insects. See Ichneumon, 2.
A group of marsupials which are partly insectivorous, as the opossum.
A group of edentates, including the ant-eaters.
entomophagous ::: a. --> Feeding on insects; insectivorous.
entomophilous ::: a. --> Fertilized by the agency of insects; -- said of plants in which the pollen is carried to the stigma by insects.
entomostracan ::: a. --> Relating to the Entomostraca. ::: n. --> One of the Entomostraca.
entomostraca ::: n. pl. --> One of the subclasses of Crustacea, including a large number of species, many of them minute. The group embraces several orders; as the Phyllopoda, Ostracoda, Copepoda, and Pectostraca. See Copepoda, Phyllopoda, and Cladocera.
entomostracous ::: a. --> Belonging to the Entomostracans.
entomotomist ::: n. --> One who practices entomotomy.
entomotomy ::: n. --> The science of the dissection of insects.
entonic ::: a. --> Having great tension, or exaggerated action.
entoperipheral ::: a. --> Being, or having its origin, within the external surface of the body; -- especially applied to feelings, such as hunger, produced by internal disturbances. Opposed to epiperipheral.
entophyte ::: n. --> A vegetable parasite subsisting in the interior of the body.
entophytic ::: a. --> Of or pertaining to entophytes; as, an entophytic disease.
entoplasm ::: n. --> The inner granular layer of protoplasm in a developing ovum.
Endosarc.
entoplastic ::: a. --> Pertaining to, or composed of, entoplasm; as, the entoplastic products of some Protozoa, or the entoplastic modification of the cell protoplasm, by which a nucleus is produced.
entoplastra ::: pl. --> of Entoplastron
entoplastron ::: n. --> The median plate of the plastron of turtles; -- called also entosternum.
entoprocta ::: n. pl. --> A group of Bryozoa in which the anus is within the circle of tentacles. See Pedicellina.
entoptic ::: a. --> Relating to objects situated within the eye; esp., relating to the perception of objects in one&
entorganism ::: n. --> An internal parasitic organism.
entortilation ::: n. --> A turning into a circle; round figures.
entosterna ::: pl. --> of Entosternum
entosternum ::: n. --> See Entoplastron.
entosthoblast ::: n. --> The granule within the nucleolus or entoblast of a nucleated cell.
entothorax ::: n. --> See Endothorax.
entotic ::: a. --> Pertaining to the interior of the ear.
entozoal ::: a. --> Alt. of Entozoic
entozoa ::: n. pl. --> A group of worms, including the tapeworms, flukes, roundworms, etc., most of which live parasitically in the interior of other animals; the Helminthes.
An artificial group, including all kinds of animals living parasitically in others. ::: pl.
entozoic ::: a. --> Pertaining to, or consisting of, the Entozoa.
entozoologist ::: n. --> One versed in the science of the Entozoa.
entozoon ::: n. --> One of the Entozoa. html{color:
entrails ::: n. pl. --> The internal parts of animal bodies; the bowels; the guts; viscera; intestines.
The internal parts; as, the entrails of the earth.
entrail ::: v. t. --> To interweave; to intertwine. ::: n. --> Entanglement; fold.
entrain ::: v. t. --> To draw along as a current does; as, water entrained by steam.
To put aboard a railway train; as, to entrain a regiment. ::: v. i. --> To go aboard a railway train; as, the troops entrained
entrammel ::: v. t. --> To trammel; to entangle.
entrance ::: 1. A means or point by which to enter. 2. The power, liberty, or right of entering; admission. entrances.
entrance, and 120 myriads of ministering angels
entranced ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entrance
entrancement ::: n. --> The act of entrancing, or the state of trance or ecstasy.
entrance ::: n. --> The act of entering or going into; ingress; as, the entrance of a person into a house or an apartment; hence, the act of taking possession, as of property, or of office; as, the entrance of an heir upon his inheritance, or of a magistrate into office.
Liberty, power, or permission to enter; as, to give entrance to friends.
The passage, door, or gate, for entering.
The entering upon; the beginning, or that with which the
entrancing ::: delightful; enchanting.
entrancing ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entrance
entrant ::: n. --> One who enters; a beginner.
An applicant for admission.
entrapped ::: caught in or as if in a trap; lured or tricked into danger or difficulty.
entrapped ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entrap
entrapping ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entrap
entrap ::: v. t. --> To catch in a trap; to insnare; hence, to catch, as in a trap, by artifices; to involve in difficulties or distresses; to catch or involve in contradictions; as, to be entrapped by the devices of evil men.
entreatable ::: a. --> That may be entreated.
entreatance ::: n. --> Entreaty.
entreated ::: asked (a person) earnestly; beseeched; implored.
entreated ::: imp. & p. p. --> of Entreat
entreater ::: n. --> One who entreats; one who asks earnestly; a beseecher.
entreatful ::: a. --> Full of entreaty. [R.] See Intreatful.
entreaties ::: pl. --> of Entreaty
entreatingly ::: adv. --> In an entreating manner.
entreating ::: p. pr. & vb. n. --> of Entreat
entreative ::: a. --> Used in entreaty; pleading.
entreatment ::: n. --> Entreaty; invitation.
entreat ::: v. t. --> To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use.
To treat with, or in respect to, a thing desired; hence, to ask earnestly; to beseech; to petition or pray with urgency; to supplicate; to importune.
To beseech or supplicate successfully; to prevail upon by prayer or solicitation; to persuade.
To invite; to entertain.
entreaty ::: n. --> Treatment; reception; entertainment.
The act of entreating or beseeching; urgent prayer; earnest petition; pressing solicitation.
entree ::: n. --> A coming in, or entrance; hence, freedom of access; permission or right to enter; as, to have the entree of a house.
In French usage, a dish served at the beginning of dinner to give zest to the appetite; in English usage, a side dish, served with a joint, or between the courses, as a cutlet, scalloped oysters, etc.
entremets ::: n. sing. & pl. --> A side dish; a dainty or relishing dish usually eaten after the joints or principal dish; also, a sweetmeat, served with a dinner.
Any small entertainment between two greater ones.
entrenched ::: established firmly or solidly; fig. dug in.
entrench ::: v. t. --> See Intrench.
entrepot ::: n. --> A warehouse; a magazine for depositing goods, stores, etc.; a mart or place where merchandise is deposited; as, an entrepot for shipping goods in transit.
entrepreneur ::: n. --> One who creates a product on his own account; whoever undertakes on his own account an industrial enterprise in which workmen are employed.
entresol ::: n. --> A low story between two higher ones, usually between the ground floor and the first story; mezzanine.
entrick ::: v. t. --> To trick, to perplex.
entries ::: pl. --> of Entry
entrochal ::: a. --> Pertaining to, or consisting of, entrochites, or the joints of encrinites; -- used of a kind of stone or marble.
entrochite ::: n. --> A fossil joint of a crinoid stem.
entropion ::: n. --> Same as Entropium.
entropium ::: n. --> The inversion or turning in of the border of the eyelids.
entropy ::: n. --> A certain property of a body, expressed as a measurable quantity, such that when there is no communication of heat the quantity remains constant, but when heat enters or leaves the body the quantity increases or diminishes. If a small amount, h, of heat enters the body when its temperature is t in the thermodynamic scale the entropy of the body is increased by h / t. The entropy is regarded as measured from some standard temperature and pressure. Sometimes called the thermodynamic function.
entropy "theory" A measure of the disorder of a system. Systems tend to go from a state of order (low entropy) to a state of maximum disorder (high entropy). The entropy of a system is related to the amount of {information} it contains. A highly ordered system can be described using fewer {bits} of information than a disordered one. For example, a string containing one million "0"s can be described using {run-length encoding} as [("0", 1000000)] whereas a string of random symbols (e.g. bits, or characters) will be much harder, if not impossible, to compress in this way. {Shannon}'s formula gives the entropy H(M) of a message M in bits: H(M) = -log2 p(M) Where p(M) is the probability of message M. (1998-11-23)
entropy ::: (theory) A measure of the disorder of a system. Systems tend to go from a state of order (low entropy) to a state of maximum disorder (high entropy).The entropy of a system is related to the amount of information it contains. A highly ordered system can be described using fewer bits of information than a random symbols (e.g. bits, or characters) will be much harder, if not impossible, to compress in this way.Shannon's formula gives the entropy H(M) of a message M in bits: H(M) = -log2 p(M) (1998-11-23)
entrust ::: v. t. --> See Intrust.
entry ::: 1. The act or an instance of entering. 2.* Something that provides access to get in or get out. Also fig. *3. Permission or right to enter; access. entry"s, entries.
entryng ::: n. --> Am entrance.
entry ::: n. --> The act of entering or passing into or upon; entrance; ingress; hence, beginnings or first attempts; as, the entry of a person into a house or city; the entry of a river into the sea; the entry of air into the blood; an entry upon an undertaking.
The act of making or entering a record; a setting down in writing the particulars, as of a transaction; as, an entry of a sale; also, that which is entered; an item.
That by which entrance is made; a passage leading into a
entune ::: v. t. --> To tune; to intone.
entwined ::: clasped as a twining plant; wrapped around; enfolded, embraced. Also fig.
entwinement ::: n. --> A twining or twisting together or round; union.
entwine ::: v. t. --> To twine, twist, or wreathe together or round. ::: v. i. --> To be twisted or twined.
entwist ::: v. t. --> To twist or wreathe round; to intwine.
Entartete ::: (Ger. Degenerate) German style of music.
Entelechy [from Greek entelecheia from en telos echein to be complete] In Aristotelian philosophy, actuality as opposed to potentiality: water is potentially solid, liquid, or gas, but actually only one of these at a time. Soul is spoken of by Aristotle as the entelecheia of body — the subsisting principle of the body’s existence, and therefore the real although unseen actuality of the body’s being, irrespective of emanated monads from the fundamental spirit-substance (svabhavat), when the latter is considered as their collective unity. It is the principle or substantive element of a being or thing, which produces or makes the actuality of such being or thing, considered apart from or irrespective of dependent or derivative powers or qualities.
Entelechy: (Gr. entelecheia) In Aristotle's philosophy (1) the mode of being of a thing whose essence is completely realized; actuality; energeia; -- opposed to dynamis, or potentiality; (2) the form or essence. -- G.R.M.
Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione (UNI) The Italian national standards body, a member of {ISO}.
Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione ::: (UNI) The Italian national standards body, a member of ISO.
Entered apprentice: In Freemasonry, one who has been given the first degree of initiation.
Enterprise (Accounting) - Is an organization created for business ventures.
Enterprise Application Integration "software" (EAI) The use of {middleware} to integrate the {application programs}, {databases}, and {legacy systems} involved in an organisation's critical business processes. [Example?] (1999-09-28)
Enterprise Application Integration ::: (software) (EAI) The use of middleware to integrate the application programs, databases, and legacy systems involved in an organisation's critical business processes.[Example?] (1999-09-28)
Enterprise / Entrepreneur (Economics) - The factor of production involving human resources that perform the functions of raising capital, organizing, managing, assembling other factors of production, and making basic business policy decisions. The risk taker.
Enterprise JavaBeans ::: (specification, business, programming) (EJB) A server-side component architecture for writing reusable business logic and portable enterprise applications. EJB is the basis of Sun's Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE).Enterprise JavaBean components are written entirely in Java and run on any EJB compliant server. They are operating system, platform, and middleware independent, preventing vendor lock-in.EJB servers provide system-level services (the plumbing) such as transactions, security, threading, and persistence.The EJB architecture is inherently transactional, distributed, multi-tier, scalable, secure, and wire protocol neutral - any protocol can be used: IIOP, JRMP, HTTP, DCOM etc. EJB 1.1 requires RMI for communication with components. EJB 2.0 is expected to require support for RMI/IIOP.EJB applications can serve assorted clients: browsers, Java, ActiveX, CORBA etc. EJB can be used to wrap legacy systems.EJB 1.1 was released in December 1999. EJB 2.0 is in development.Sun claims broad industry adoption. 30 vendors are shipping server products implementing EJB. Supporting vendors include IBM, Fujitsu, Sybase, Borland, Oracle, and Symantec.An alternative is Microsoft's MTS (Microsoft Transaction Server). . .(2000-04-20)
Enterprise JavaBeans "specification, business, programming" (EJB) A {server}-side {component architecture} for writing reusable {business logic} and {portable} {enterprise} applications. EJB is the basis of {Sun}'s {Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition} (J2EE). Enterprise JavaBean components are written entirely in {Java} and run on any EJB compliant server. They are {operating system}, {platform}, and {middleware} independent, preventing vendor {lock-in}. EJB servers provide system-level services (the "plumbing") such as {transactions}, security, {threading}, and {persistence}. The EJB architecture is inherently transactional, {distributed}, {multi-tier}, {scalable}, secure, and {wire protocol} neutral - any {protocol} can be used: {IIOP}, {JRMP}, {HTTP}, {DCOM} etc. EJB 1.1 requires {RMI} for communication with components. EJB 2.0 is expected to require support for RMI/IIOP. EJB applications can serve assorted clients: {browsers}, Java, {ActiveX}, {CORBA} etc. EJB can be used to wrap {legacy systems}. EJB 1.1 was released in December 1999. EJB 2.0 is in development. Sun claims broad industry adoption. 30 vendors are shipping server products implementing EJB. Supporting vendors include {IBM}, {Fujitsu}, {Sybase}, {Borland}, {Oracle}, and {Symantec}. An alternative is Microsoft's MTS ({Microsoft Transaction Server}). {(http://java.sun.com/products/ejb/)}. {FAQ (http://java.sun.com/products/ejb/faq.html)}. (2000-04-20)
Enterprise Report Management {Electronic Report Management}
Enterprise Resource Planning "application, business" (ERP) Any {software} system designed to support and automate the business processes of medium and large businesses. This may include manufacturing, distribution, personnel, project management, payroll, and financials. ERP systems are accounting-oriented information systems for identifying and planning the {enterprise}-wide resources needed to take, make, distribute, and account for customer orders. ERP systems were originally extensions of {MRP II} systems, but have since widened their scope. An ERP system also differs from the typical MRP II system in technical requirements such as {relational database}, use of {object oriented programming} language, {computer aided software engineering} tools in development, {client/server} {architecture}, and {open system} {portability}. {JBOPS} are the major producers of ERP software. {"ERP Systems - Using IT to gain a competitive advantage", Shankarnarayanan S. (http://expressindia.com/newads/bsl/advant.htm)}. (1999-07-27)
Enterprise Resource Planning ::: (application, business) (ERP) Any software system designed to support and automate the business processes of medium and large businesses. This may include manufacturing, distribution, personnel, project management, payroll, and financials.ERP systems are accounting-oriented information systems for identifying and planning the enterprise-wide resources needed to take, make, distribute, and of object oriented programming language, computer aided software engineering tools in development, client/server architecture, and open system portability.JBOPS are the major producers of ERP software. ERP Systems - Using IT to gain a competitive advantage, Shankarnarayanan S. . (1999-07-27)
Enterprise Systems CONnectivity "networking" (ESCON) {Optical fibre} connections between a {mainframe} and its {peripherals}. Also an {IBM} registered trademark. (1997-03-31)
Enterprise Systems CONnectivity ::: (networking) (ESCON) Optical fibre connections between a mainframe and its peripherals. Also an IBM registered trademark. (1997-03-31)
Enterprise value (EV) - Is a measure of a company's worth or value. It is normally calculated by the following method EV = market capitalisation + debt and preferred shares - (cash + cash equivalents).
Enterprise zones - Small inner city areas designated by the government which qualify for financial assistance.
Entheogen ::: A chemical substance utilized to change consciousness and explore the subtle layers of reality. Usually this refers to those chemicals that would otherwise be called hallucinogens or psychedelics, but not exclusively. Our definition includes both naturally-sourced and articially-derived chemicals. The name literally implies a "generating of divinity within" and entheogenic journeying is a method of self-discovery with much potential waiting to be explored.
Enthroned Madonna (Queen of the angels) flanked by four archangels (presumably Michael, Gabriel,
Enthroned Madonna (Queen of the angels)
Enthymeme: (Gr. enthymema) In Aristotle's logic a rhetorical syllogism, usually consisting of probable premisses, and used for persuasion as distinct from instruction. In later logic a syllogism of which one premiss or the conclusion is not explicitly stated. -- G.R.M.
Entire physical retirement is seWom heafthy,' aMougft a tempo- rary retirement is often helpfuL But the main thing is the inner detachment and complete tnniing to the Divine. ‘
EntireX "operating system" The German company {Software AG}'s implementation of {DCOM} under {Unix} and on {IBM} {mainframes}, released at the end of 1997. EntireX enables users to exchange their {DCOM} components between {Windows 95}, {Windows NT}, {Unix} and {OS/390} and to build {application programs} with components running on any of those {platforms}. {Home (http://softwareag.com/corporat/solutions/entirex/entirex.htm)}. (1999-02-05)
EntireX ::: (operating system) The German company Software AG's implementation of DCOM under Unix and on IBM mainframes, released at the end of 1997. EntireX Unix and OS/390 and to build application programs with components running on any of those platforms. . (1999-02-05)
Entities —an order of angels in occult lore.
Entities, neutral: Qualityless elements, simples that are in themselves neither mental nor physical. -- H.H.
Entity – 1. Accounting: separate economic unit subject to financial measurement for accounting purposes. Examples are a corporation, partnership, sole proprietor, and trust. Or 2. Legal: individual, partnership, corporation, and so on, permitted by law to own property and engage in business. Affiliated legal entities such as those consolidated for financial reporting may exist. Here, two or more companies operate under common control.
Entity ::: A non-human being. The classification ranges from artifically created constructs (accidentally created or intentionally made) to sub-lunar spirits to deities and godforms and everything in between
Entity: A real being; also the common element in all individuals belonging to a genus or species, which may be considered apart from the individual characteristics. Sometimes used in the sense of a vague and ill-defined reality. -- J.J.R.
Entity assumption / concept - That the firm or business is separate from the owner in preparing financial statements.
Entity theory - View in which a business or other organization has a separate accountability of its own. It is based on the equation: Assets = Liabilities + stockholders equity. The entity theory considers liabilities as equities with different rights and legal standing in the business. Under the theory, assets, obligations, revenues, and expenses and other financial aspects of the business entity are accounted for separately from its owners. In other words, the company has an identity distinct from its owners or managers. The firm is viewed as an economic and legal unit
Entomb ::: A method of decommissioning in which radioactive contaminants are encased in a structurally long-lived material, such as concrete. The entombment structure is appropriately maintained, and continued surveillance is carried out until the radioactivity decays to a level permitting decommissioning and ultimate unrestricted release of the property.
Entrepreneur – 1. Accounting is the individual who takes the financial risk of the management and operation of a business or venture. Or 2. Economics an economic agent who perceives market opportunities and assembles factors of production to exploit them in a firm.
Entrepreneurship - The initiating and organising of the production of new goods, or the introduction of new techniques, and the risk taking associated with it.
Entropy [from Greek entropia turned in] The second law of thermodynamics, enunciated by mathematical physicist Clausius (1822-1888), which states that heat cannot of itself pass from a colder to a warmer body; also that it is impossible, by means of inanimate material agencies, to derive mechanical effect from any portion of matter by cooling it below the temperature of the coldest surrounding objects. The process of cooling is considered irreversible, and the energy is said to have passed into an unavailable form. The entropy of such a cooling system is said to have attained a maximum — all energy is “turned in” or run-down. The final result of such a process on a universe supposed to be dissipating its energy in the form of heat, would be to reduce all bodies to the same temperature; hence there could be no further transference of heat or energy among them and a state of quiescence or deadness would ensue. Such has been the scientific view, which assumes that the sun is a hot body cooling — a view not held by theosophy.
Entropy: Thermodynamic state approaching a maximum level of zero difference of energy potentials. Enumerable: A class is enumerable if its cardinal number (q.v.) is aleph 0. -- A.C.
Entry barrier - Any natural barrier to the entry of new firms into an industry, such as a large minimum efficient scale for firms, or any firm created barrier, such as a patent.
Entry - Part of a transaction recorded in a journal or posted to a ledger.
Entry Sequenced Data Set "database" (ESDS) An {IBM} straight sequential flat file (like {QSAM}) but externally managed via {IDCAMS}. ESDS is used in {VSAM}. (1999-01-11)
Entry Sequenced Data Set ::: (database) (ESDS) An IBM straight sequential flat file (like QSAM) but externally managed via IDCAMS. ESDS is used in VSAM. (1999-01-11)
Entry title, Puerto del Cielo, X86-H 42Q. An edition
TERMS ANYWHERE
1. Accompanying in a circumstantial relation; going with as a concomitant; closely consequent. 2. Following closely. 3. Waiting for, awaiting, expecting (a future time, event, result, decision, etc.)
1. Situated at, in, or near the center. 2. Of basic importance; essential or principal.
1. Spirited and original; daring; bold. 2. Fearlessly, often recklessly daring; bold; defiant; insolent; brazen; unrestrained by convention or propriety.
1. The active opposition or mutual hostility of two opposing forces, physical or mental. 2. An opposing force, principle, or tendency.
1. The act, power or property of appealing, alluring, enticing or inviting. 2. A thing or feature which draws by appealing to desires, tastes, etc. 3. The action of a body or substance in drawing to itself, by some physical force, another to which it is not materially attached; the force thus exercised. attractions.
1. The expenditure of something, such as time or labour, necessary for the attainment of a goal. Also fig. **2. The price paid or required for acquiring, producing, or maintaining something, usually measured in money, time, or energy; expense or expenditure; outlay. 3. **Suffering or sacrifice; loss; penalty.
a body of executive officials collectively entrusted with the execution and administration of laws.
abounds ::: present in overflowing measure; plentiful; prevails widely.
abrupt ::: 1. Characterized by sudden interruption or change; unannounced and unexpected; sudden, hasty. 2. Precipitous, steep. 3. Of strata: Suddenly cropping out and presenting their edges.
absent ::: 1. Being away, withdrawn from, or not present (at a place). 2. Of time: Not present, distant, far off.
absence ::: the state of being away (from any place) or not being present; also the time of duration of such state.
absolute ::: adj. 1. Free from all imperfection or deficiency; complete, finished; perfect, consummate. 2. Of degree: Complete, entire; in the fullest sense. 3. Having ultimate power, governing totally; unlimited by a constitution or the concurrent authority of a parliament; arbitrary, despotic. 4. Existing without relation to any other being; self-existent; self-sufficing. 5. Capable of being thought or conceived by itself alone; unconditioned. 6. Considered independently of its being subjective or objective. n. 7. Something that is not dependent upon external conditions for existence or for its specific nature, size, etc. (opposed to relative). Absolute, Absolute"s, absolutes, absoluteness.
absolute reality ::: Sri Aurobindo: "I would myself say that bliss and oneness are the essential condition of the absolute reality, and love as the most characteristic dynamic power of bliss and oneness must support fundamentally and colour their activities; . . . .” Letters on Yoga
absorbed ::: 1. Engrossed or entirely occupied; preoccupied. 2. Swallowed up, or comprised, so as no longer to exist apart.
abstract ::: adj. 1. Withdrawn or separated from matter, from material embodiment, from practice, or from particular examples; theoretical. 2. In the fine arts, characterized by lack of or freedom from representational qualities. n. 3. Something that concentrates in itself the essential qualities of anything more extensive or more general, or of several things; essence.
abstractions ::: things which have no independent existence, which exist only in idea; visionary and unrealistic.
abyss ::: 1. The great deep, the primal chaos; the ‘bowels of the earth", the supposed cavity of the lower world; the ‘infernal pit". 2. A bottomless gulf; any unfathomable or apparently unfathomable cavity or void space; a profound gulf, chasm, or void extending beneath. Abyss, abyss"s, abysses.
accent ::: 1. The way in which anything is said; pronunciation, tone, voice; sound, modulation or modification of the voice expressing feeling. 2. A mark indicating stress or some other distinction in pronunciation or value. accents.
accentuating ::: marking strongly, emphasizing.
accept ::: 1. To take or receive (a thing offered) willingly, or with consenting mind; to receive (a thing or person) with favour or approval. 2. To take formally (what is offered) with contemplation of its consequences and obligations; to take upon oneself, to undertake as a responsibility. 3. To agree or consent to. 4. To regard as true or sound; believe. accepts, accepted, accepting.
acceptance ::: the act of assenting.
access ::: 1. The ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use; admittance. 2. A way or means of approach; an entrance, channel, passage, or doorway.
accident ::: 1. Any event that happens unexpectedly, without a deliberate plan or cause. 2. A fortuitous circumstance, quality, or characteristic. 3. An unfortunate event, a disaster, a mishap. accidents.
accord ::: agreement or harmonious correspondence of things or their properties, as of colours or tints. Of sounds: Agreement in pitch and tone; harmony.
account ::: n. 1. A record of debts and credits, applied to other things than money or trade. 2. A particular statement or narrative of an event or thing; a relation, report, or description. v. 3. To render an account or reckoning of; to give a satisfactory reason for, to give an explanation.
accurate ::: 1. Exact, precise, correct, as the result of care. 2. Free from error or defect; consistent with a standard, rule, or model; precise, exact.
ache ::: a continuous or abiding pain, in contrast to a sudden or sharp one. Used of both physical and mental sensations.
achieve ::: 1. To bring to a successful end, to carry out successfully (an enterprise); to accomplish, perform. 2. To succeed in gaining, to acquire by effort, to obtain, win. achieves, achieved, achieving.
achievement ::: something accomplished, esp. by superior ability, special effort, great courage, etc. achievements.
"A conscious being, no larger than a man"s thumb, stands in the centre of our self; he is master of the past and the present . . . he is today and he is tomorrow. — Katha Upanishad. (6)” The Life Divine - See *conscious being.
::: "A cosmic Will and Wisdom observant of the ascending march of the soul"s consciousness and experience as it emerges out of subconscient Matter and climbs to its own luminous divinity fixes the norm and constantly enlarges the lines of the law — or, let us say, since law is a too mechanical conception, — the truth of Karma.” Essays in Philosophy and Yoga
"A cosmos or universe is always a harmony, otherwise it could not exist, it would fly to pieces. But as there are musical harmonies which are built out of discords partly or even predominantly, so this universe (the material) is disharmonious in its separate elements — the individual elements are at discord with each other to a large extent; it is only owing to the sustaining Divine Will behind that the whole is still a harmony to those who look at it with the cosmic vision. But it is a harmony in evolution in progress — that is, all is combined to strive towards a goal which is not yet reached, and the object of our yoga is to hasten the arrival to this goal. When it is reached, there will be a harmony of harmonies substituted for the present harmony built up on discords. This is the explanation of the present appearance of things.” Letters on Yoga
acquiescing ::: assenting tacitly; submitting or complying silently or without protest; agreeing; consenting. acquiescence.
"Action is a resultant of the energy of the being, but this energy is not of one sole kind; the Consciousness-Force of the Spirit manifests itself in many kinds of energies: there are inner activities of mind, activities of life, of desire, passion, impulse, character, activities of the senses and the body, a pursuit of truth and knowledge, a pursuit of beauty, a pursuit of ethical good or evil, a pursuit of power, love, joy, happiness, fortune, success, pleasure, life-satisfactions of all kinds, life-enlargement, a pursuit of individual or collective objects, a pursuit of the health, strength, capacity, satisfaction of the body.” The Life Divine*
actual ::: in action or existence at the time; present, current, real. Actual"s.
adamant ::: n. 1. Any impenetrably or unyieldingly hard substance. 2. A legendary stone of impenetrable hardness, formerly sometimes identified with the diamond. adj. **3. Unshakeable, inflexible, utterly unyielding. 4. Incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated; immovable, impregnable. adamantine.**
adept ::: one who is completely versed (in something); thoroughly proficient; well-skilled; expert. adepts.
adjoining ::: 1. Adding, annexing, attaching, or appending. 2. Lying next, contiguous, adjacent; neighbouring.
"Adjustment for practical purposes of rival courses of action, systems, or theories, conflicting opinions or principles, by the sacrifice or surrender of a part of each. . . .” Essays Divine and Human*
admirable ::: worthy of admiration; inspiring approval or respect; excellent.
admit ::: 1. To allow to enter, let in, receive (a person or thing). 2. Fig. To allow a matter to enter into any relation to action or thought. 3. To accept as true, or as a fact, to acknowledge, concede. 4. To allow, permit, grant. admits, admitted, admitting.
adopt ::: to choose or take as one"s own; make one"s own by election or assent. adopts.
adoration ::: 1. The act of paying honour, as to a divine being; worship. 2. Reverent homage. 3. Fervent and devoted love. **adoration"s.*Sri Aurobindo: "Especially in love for the Divine or for one whom one feels to be divine, the Bhakta feels an intense reverence for the Loved, a sense of something of immense greatness, beauty or value and for himself a strong impression of his own comparative unworthiness and a passionate desire to grow into likeness with that which one adores.” Letters on Yoga*
adorn ::: to beautify as an ornament does; decorate; to add beauty or lustre to. adorned.
advance ::: n. **1. Fig. Onward movement in any process or course of action; progress. v. 2. To move or go forward; to proceed. 3. Fig. To go forward or make progress in life, or in any course. 3. To move, put, or push (a thing) forward. Also fig. advances, advanced, advancing.**
advent ::: any important or epoch-making arrival. In modern usage applied poetically or grandiloquently to any arrival. advent"s, advents.
adventure ::: n. 1. Any novel or unexpected event in which one shares; an exciting or remarkable incident befalling any one. 2. The encountering of risks or participation in novel and exciting events; bold or daring activity, enterprise. adventure"s, world-adventure, world-adventure"s. *v. 3. To take the chance of; to commit to fortune; to undertake a thing of doubtful issue; to try, to chance, to venture into or upon. 4. To risk or hazard; stake. *adventuring.
adventurer ::: one who seeks adventures, or who engages in daring enterprises. (Sri Aurobindo also employs the word as an adj.) adventurers, Adventurers.
adversary ::: a person, group or force that opposes or attacks, or acts in a hostile manner; an opponent, antagonist; an enemy, foe. adversary"s.
aegis ::: originally the shield or breastplate of Zeus, or Athena. Currently, protection; support; sponsorship; auspices.
"Aesthesis therefore is of the very essence of poetry, as it is of all art. But it is not the sole element and aesthesis too is not confined to a reception of poetry and art; it extends to everything in the world: there is nothing we can sense, think or in any way experience to which there cannot be an aesthetic reaction of our conscious being. Ordinarily, we suppose that aesthesis is concerned with beauty, and that indeed is its most prominent concern: but it is concerned with many other things also. It is the universal Ananda that is the parent of aesthesis and the universal Ananda takes three major and original forms, beauty, love and delight, the delight of all existence, the delight in things, in all things.” Letters on Savitri
"A fabulous tribe of wild, beastlike monsters, having the upper part of a human being and the lower part of a horse. They live in the woods or mountains of Elis, Arcadia, and Thessaly. They are representative of wild life, animal desires and barbarism. (M.I.) Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works.*
affections ::: emotions; kind feelings, love, fondness, loving attachment.
afflicted ::: distressed with mental or bodily pain; troubled greatly; grievously depressed, oppressed, cast down; tormented.
afflicting ::: 1. Grievously painful, distressing. 2. Distressing with bodily or mental suffering; troubling grievously, tormenting. self-afflicting.
a game in which a blindfolded player tries to catch and identify one of the other players. The game has been around for at least 2000 years and probably longer. It is known to have been played in Greece about the time of the Roman Conquest.
agent ::: n. **1. One who does the actual work of anything, as distinguished from the instigator or employer; hence, one who acts for another, a deputy, steward, factor, substitute, representative, or emissary. adj. 2. That which acts or exerts power. agents.**
agree ::: 1. To be in harmony or unison in opinions, feelings, conduct, etc.; to be in sympathy; to live or act together harmoniously; to have no causes of variance. 2. To give consent; assent (often followed by to). agreed.
agreement ::: a contract or other document delineating an arrangement that is accepted by all parties to a transaction. (Sri Aurobindo capitalizes the word.)
air ::: 1. The transparent, invisible, inodorous, and tasteless gaseous substance which envelopes the earth. 2. *Fig. With reference to its unsubstantial or impalpable nature. 3. Outward appearance, apparent character, manner, look, style: esp. in phrases like ‘an air of absurdity"; less commonly of a thing tangible, as ‘the air of a mansion". 4. Mien or gesture (expressive of a personal quality or emotion). *air"s.
ajar ::: neither entirely open nor entirely shut; partly open.
alarm ::: n. 1. A warning sound of any kind to give notice of danger, or to arouse or attract attention; esp. a loud and hurried peal rung out by a tocsin or alarm bell. v. 2. To arouse to a sense of danger, to excite the attention or suspicion of, to put on the alert; warn. 3. To strike with fear or apprehension of danger; to agitate or excite with sudden fear. alarmed, alarming.
alert ::: fully aware and attentive; wide-awake; vigilant, watchful.
algebra ::: the branch of mathematics that deals with general statements of relations, utilizing letters and other symbols to represent specific sets of numbers, values, vectors, etc., in the description of such relations. 2. Any special system of notation adapted to the study of a special system of relationship.
"All birds of that region are relatives. But this is the bird of eternal Ananda, while the Hippogriff is the divinised Thought and the Bird of Fire is the Agni-bird, psychic and tapas. All that however is to mentalise too much and mentalising always takes most of the life out of spiritual things. That is why I say it can be seen but nothing said about it.” ::: "The question was: ‘In the mystical region, is the dragon bird any relation of your Bird of Fire with ‘gold-white wings" or your Hippogriff with ‘face lustred, pale-blue-lined"? And why do you write: ‘What to say about him? One can only see"?” Letters on Savitri
"All change must come from within with the felt or the secret support of the Divine Power; it is only by one"s own inner opening to that that one can receive help, not by mental, vital or physical contact with others.” Letters on Yoga
::: "All conscious being is one and indivisible in itself, but in manifestation it becomes a complex rhythm, a scale of harmonies, a hierarchy of states or movements.” The Upanishads
all- ::: prefix: Wholly, altogether, infinitely. Since 1600, the number of these [combinations] has been enormously extended, all-** having become a possible prefix, in poetry at least, to almost any adjective of quality. all-affirming, All-Beautiful, All-Beautiful"s, All-Bliss, All-Blissful, All-causing, all-concealing, all-conquering, All-Conscient, All-Conscious, all-containing, All-containing, all-creating, all-defeating, All-Delight, all-discovering, all-embracing, all-fulfilling, all-harbouring, all-inhabiting, all-knowing, All-knowing, All-Knowledge, all-levelling, All-Life, All-love, All-Love, all-negating, all-powerful, all-revealing, All-ruler, all-ruling, all-seeing, All-seeing, all-seeking, all-shaping, all-supporting, all-sustaining, all-swallowing, All-Truth, All-vision, All-Wisdom, all-wise, All-Wise, all-witnessing, All-Wonderful, All-Wonderful"s.**
All these centres are in the middle of the body; they are supposed to be attached to the spinal cord; but in fact all these things are in the subtle body, suksma deha , though one has the feeling of their activities as if in the physical body when the consciousness is awake.” Letters on Yoga
allured ::: 1. Attracted as to a lure; drawn or enticed to a place or to a course of action. 2. Attracted or tempted by something flattering or desirable; fascinated, charmed. alluring, **alluringly, allurement.
almighty ::: 1. *Orig. and in the strict sense used as an attribute of the Deity, and joined to God or other title. 2. Absol. The Almighty; a title of God. 3. All-powerful (in a general sense); omnipotent. Almighty"s, Almightiness, almightiness.
alter ::: to make otherwise or different in some respect; to make some change in character, shape, condition, position, quantity, value, etc. without changing the thing itself for another; to modify, to change the appearance of. alters, altered, altering.
amazed ::: greatly surprised; astounded; suddenly filled with wonder; astonished. amazing, amazement.
ambassadors ::: 1. Diplomatic officials of the highest rank. 2. Authorized messengers or representatives.
amber ::: a pale yellow, sometimes reddish or brownish, fossil resin of vegetable origin, translucent, brittle, and capable of gaining a negative electrical charge by friction and of being an excellent insulator. 2. The yellowish-brown colour of resin.
ambience ::: 1. The mood, character, quality, tone, atmosphere, etc., particularly of an environment or milieu. 2. That which surrounds or encompasses.
ambiguities ::: uncertainties of meaning or intentions.
ambition ::: an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honour, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment. ambitions.
amid ::: in the middle of or centre of; surrounded by; among.
ample ::: fully sufficient or more than adequate for the purpose or need; plentiful; of adequate or more than adequate extent, size, or amount; large; spacious. ampler.
amusements ::: pleasurable pastimes of the mind or attention; mental diversions and enjoyments in lieu of more serious matters.
amuse ::: to hold the attention of (someone) pleasantly; entertain or divert in an enjoyable or cheerful manner. amused, amusing.
analyse ::: to examine carefully and in detail so as to identify causes, key factors, possible results; examine minutely and critically to determine the elements or essential features of. analysed.
anarch ::: a. Lawless, rebellious; n. An adherent of anarchy or a leader practicing it.
anarchy ::: a state of society without government or law ; lawlessness, confusion, chaos, disorder.
". . . an Avatar is not at all bound to be a spiritual prophet — he is never in fact merely a prophet, he is a realiser, an establisher — not of outward things only, though he does realise something in the outward also, but, as I have said, of something essential and radical needed for the terrestrial evolution which is the evolution of the embodied spirit through successive stages towards the Divine.” Letters on Yoga
"An Avatar, roughly speaking, is one who is conscious of the presence and power of the Divine born in him or descended into him and governing from within his will and life and action; he feels identified inwardly with this divine power and presence.” Letters on Yoga
anchor ::: 1. Any of various devices dropped by a chain, cable, or rope to the bottom of a body of water for preventing or restricting the motion of a vessel or other floating object, typically having broad, hooklike arms that bury themselves in the bottom to provide a firm hold. 2. A person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security; mainstay.
ancient ::: 1. Of or in time long past or early in the world"s history. 2. Dating from a remote period; of great age; of early origin. 3. Being old in wisdom and experience; venerable. Ancient.
ancient; existing for numberless centuries.
::: "And this bliss is not a supreme pleasure of the heart and sensations with the experience of pain and sorrow as its background, but a delight also self-existent and independent of objects and particular experiences, a self-delight which is the very nature, the very stuff, as it were, of a transcendent and infinite existence.” The Synthesis of Yoga
anew ::: 1. Over again; again; once more. 2. In a new form or manner different from the previous.
::: "An executive cosmic force shapes us and dictates through our temperament and environment and mentality so shaped, through our individualised formulation of the cosmic energies, our actions and their results. Truly, we do not think, will or act but thought occurs in us, will occurs in us, impulse and act occur in us; our ego-sense gathers around itself, refers to itself all this flow of natural activities. It is cosmic Force, it is Nature that forms the thought, imposes the will, imparts the impulse. Our body, mind and ego are a wave of that sea of force in action and do not govern it, but by it are governed and directed.” The Synthesis of Yoga —**cosmic forces.**
**Angel of the Way *Sri Aurobindo: "Love fulfilled does not exclude knowledge, but itself brings knowledge; and the completer the knowledge, the richer the possibility of love. ‘By Bhakti" says the Lord in the Gita ‘shall a man know Me in all my extent and greatness and as I am in the principles of my being, and when he has known Me in the principles of my being, then he enters into Me." Love without knowledge is a passionate and intense, but blind, crude, often dangerous thing, a great power, but also a stumbling-block; love, limited in knowledge, condemns itself in its fervour and often by its very fervour to narrowness; but love leading to perfect knowledge brings the infinite and absolute union. Such love is not inconsistent with, but rather throws itself with joy into divine works; for it loves God and is one with him in all his being, and therefore in all beings, and to work for the world is then to feel and fulfil multitudinously one"s love for God. This is the trinity of our powers, [work, knowledge, love] the union of all three in God to which we arrive when we start on our journey by the path of devotion with Love for the Angel of the Way to find in the ecstasy of the divine delight of the All-Lover"s being the fulfilment of ours, its secure home and blissful abiding-place and the centre of its universal radiation.” The Synthesis of Yoga*
anklet ::: an ornamental circlet worn around the ankle; an ankle-ring. anklet-bells.
anniversary ::: the yearly recurrence of the date of a past event, esp. the celebration or commemoration of such a date.
announcers ::: those who present, give notice and/or tell news.
annul ::: 1. To reduce to nothing; obliterate; annihilate. To put out of existence, extinguish. 2. To put an end or stop to (an action or state of things); to abolish, cancel, do away with. 3. To make void or null; abolish; cancel; invalidate; declare invalid. annuls, annulled, annulling, annulment.
anomalies ::: deviations from the common rule, type, arrangement, order, or form.
anomalous ::: deviating from or inconsistent with the common order, form, or rule; irregular; abnormal.
another ::: adj. 1. Being one more or more of the same; further; additional. 2. Very similar to; of the same kind or category as. 3. Different; distinct; of a different period, place, or kind. pron. **4. A person other than oneself or the one specified. 5. One more; an additional one. another"s**.
antagonist ::: one who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent, adversary. antagonists.
antechambers ::: 1. Chambers or rooms that serve as waiting rooms and entrances to larger rooms or apartments; anterooms. 2. Any areas that are entrances to other areas.
antique ::: 1. Of or belonging to the past. 2. Dating from a period long ago; ancient.
anvil ::: a heavy iron block with a smooth face, frequently of steel, on which heated metals are hammered into desired shapes.
anxious ::: full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried.
"A philosophy of change?(1) But what is change? In ordinary parlance change means passage from one condition to another and that would seem to imply passage from one status to another status. The shoot changes into a tree, passes from the status of shoot to the status of tree and there it stops; man passes from the status of young man to the status of old man and the only farther change possible to him is death or dissolution of his status. So it would seem that change is not something isolated which is the sole original and eternal reality, but it is something dependent on status, and if status were non-existent, change also could not exist. For we have to ask, when you speak of change as alone real, change of what, from what, to what? Without this ‘what" change could not be. ::: —Change is evidently the change of some form or state of existence from one condition to another condition.” Essays Divine and Human
apocalypse ::: 1. Any revelation or prophecy. 2. A prophetic revelation, esp. concerning a cataclysm in which the forces of good permanently triumph over the forces of evil.
apparent ::: readily seen; exposed to sight; open to view. 2. Capable of being easily perceived or understood; plain or clear; obvious; visible.
appeal ::: 1. An earnest request for aid, support, sympathy, mercy, etc.; entreaty; petition; plea. 2. An application or proceeding for review by a higher tribunal. 3. The power or ability to attract, interest; attraction. appealed, appealing, sense-appeal.
appear ::: 1. To come into sight; become visible; come into view, as from a place or state of concealment, or from a distance; esp. of angels, spirits, visions. 2. To come into existence; be created. 3. To be clear to the understanding. 4. To seem or look to be. appears, appeared, appearing.
appease ::: 1. To bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; pacify; soothe. 2. To satisfy, allay, or relieve.
appellants ::: those who appeal to a higher tribunal; entreat.
apprentice ::: a learner; novice; tyro; one who is learning the rudiments; a trainee. apprenticeship.
approach ::: v. 1. To come near or nearer to; draw near. 2. To come near to a person: i.e. into personal relations; into his presence or audience; or fig. within the range of his notice or attention. 3. To come near in quality, character, time, or condition; to be nearly equal. approaches, approached, approaching.* *n. 4. Any means of access or way of passage, avenue. 5. The act of drawing near. approaches.**
apsaras ::: Sri Aurobindo: "The Apsaras are the most beautiful and romantic conception on the lesser plane of Hindu mythology. From the moment that they arose out of the waters of the milky Ocean, robed in ethereal raiment and heavenly adornment, waking melody from a million lyres, the beauty and light of them has transformed the world. They crowd in the sunbeams, they flash and gleam over heaven in the lightnings, they make the azure beauty of the sky; they are the light of sunrise and sunset and the haunting voices of forest and field. They dwell too in the life of the soul; for they are the ideal pursued by the poet through his lines, by the artist shaping his soul on his canvas, by the sculptor seeking a form in the marble; for the joy of their embrace the hero flings his life into the rushing torrent of battle; the sage, musing upon God, sees the shining of their limbs and falls from his white ideal. The delight of life, the beauty of things, the attraction of sensuous beauty, this is what the mystic and romantic side of the Hindu temperament strove to express in the Apsara. The original meaning is everywhere felt as a shining background, but most in the older allegories, especially the strange and romantic legend of Pururavas as we first have it in the Brahmanas and the Vishnoupurana.
apt ::: 1. Having a natural tendency; inclined; disposed. 2. Unusually intelligent; able to learn quickly and easily. 3. Exactly suitable; appropriate.
arabesques ::: 1. Any ornaments or ornamental objects such as rugs or mosaics, in which flowers, foliage, fruits, vases, animals, and figures are represented in a fancifully combined pattern. 2. *Fine Arts.* A sinuous, spiraling, undulating, or serpentine line or linear motif.
arbitrary ::: 1. Based on or subject to individual will, judgment or preference: judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one"s discretion. 2. Capricious; unreasonable; unsupported. 3. Derived from mere opinion or preference; capricious; uncertain. 4. Having unlimited power; uncontrolled or unrestricted by law; despotic; tyrannical.
arch ::: 1. An upwardly curved construction, for spanning an opening, consisting of a number of wedgelike stones, bricks, or the like, set with the narrower side toward the opening in such a way that forces on the arch are transmitted as vertical or oblique stresses on either side of the opening, either capable of bearing weight or merely ornamental; 2. Something bowed or curved; any bowlike part: the arch of the foot. 3. An arched roof, door; gateway; vault; fig. the heavens. arches.
arch- ::: a combining form that represents the outcome of archi- in words borrowed through Latin from Greek in the Old English period; it subsequently became a productive form added to nouns of any origin, which thus denote individuals or institutions directing or having authority over others of their class (archbishop; archdiocese; archpriest): principal. More recently, arch-1 has developed the senses "principal” (archenemy; archrival) or "prototypical” and thus exemplary or extreme (archconservative); nouns so formed are almost always pejorative. Arch-intelligence.
architectonic ::: metaph. Of the systematic arrangement of knowledge.
architecture ::: 1. The profession of designing buildings and other artificial constructions and environments, usually with some regard to aesthetic effect. 2. The character or style of building. 3. Construction or structure generally. architectures.
archives ::: preserved historical records or documents, also the place where they are kept.
arcturus ::: a giant star in the constellation Boötes. It is the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere and the fourth brightest star in the sky, with an apparent magnitude of 0.00; sometimes referring to the Great Bear itself.
ardent ::: 1. Having, expressive of, or characterized by intense feeling; glowing with passion, animated by keen desire; intensely eager, zealous, fervent, fervid. 2. Burning, fiery, or hot. ardent-hued.
ardour ::: great warmth of feeling, passion or desire; zeal, fervour, eagerness, enthusiasm.
a religious official among the Romans, whose duty it was to predict future events and advise upon the course of public business, in accordance with omens derived from the flight, singing, and feeding of birds. Hence extended to: A soothsayer, diviner, or prophet, generally; one that foresees and foretells the future. (Sri Aurobindo employs the word as an adjective.) augured.
arenas ::: central stages, rings, areas, or the like, used for sports or other forms of entertainment, surrounded by seats for spectators.
argent ::: resembling silver; silvery white.
argument ::: 1. A fact or statement put forth as proof or evidence; a reason; persuasive discourse, debate. 2. A process of reasoning; series of reasons.
arise ::: 1. To get up from sleep or rest; to awaken; wake up. 2. To go up, come up, ascend on high, mount. Now only poet. **3. To come into being, action, or notice; originate; appear; spring up. 4. Of circumstances viewed as results: To spring, originate, or result from. 5. To rise from inaction, from the peaceful, quiet, or ordinary course of life. 6. To rise in violence or agitation, as the sea, the wind; to boil up as a fermenting fluid, the blood; so of the heart, wrath, etc. Now poet. 7. Of sounds: To come up aloud, or so as to be audible, to be heard aloud. arises, arising, arose, arisen. *(Sri Aurobindo also employs arisen as an adj.*)
arraigned ::: called (an accused person) before a court to answer the charge made against him or her by indictment, information, or complaint, or brought before a court to answer to an indictment; accused, charged with fault.
array ::: an orderly, often imposing arrangement or series of things displayed; an imposing series.
artifice ::: 1. An artful or crafty expedient; a stratagem. 2. Cleverness or skill; ingenuity; inventiveness.
artificer ::: 1. One who is skilful or clever in devising ways of making things; inventor. 2. A skilful or artistic worker; craftsperson. artificers.
"Art is a living harmony and beauty that must be expressed in all the movements of existence. This manifestation of beauty and harmony is part of the Divine realisation upon earth, perhaps even its greatest part.” Questions and Answers, MCW Vol. 3.
art ::: v. archaic** A second person singular present indicative of be, now only poet., not in modern usage. All other references are to art as the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. Also, the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria. art"s, arts, art-parades.
ascent ::: Sri Aurobindo: "The ascent or the upward movement takes place when there is a sufficient aspiration from the being, i.e., from the various mental, vital and physical planes.” *Letters on Yoga
ascension ::: the act or process of ascending; upward movement. flame-ascensions.
as it would be if; as though. (Introducing a supposition, or way of conceiving some entity or situation, that is not to be taken literally, but yields some insight or convenience in metaphysics.)
aspiration ::: 1. A strong desire for high achievement. 2. A steadfast longing for something above oneself. **aspiration"s.
::: "Aspiration is to call the forces. When the forces have answered, there is a natural state of quiet receptivity concentrated but spontaneous.” Letters on Yoga
"Aspiration should be not a form of desire, but the feeling of an inner soul"s need, and a quiet settled will to turn towards the Divine and seek the Divine. It is certainly not easy to get rid of this mixture of desire entirely — not easy for anyone; but when one has the will to do it, this also can be effected by the help of the sustaining Force.” Letters on Yoga
aspire ::: to have a fixed desire, longing, or ambition for something at present above one; to seek to attain, yearn. aspires, aspired, aspiring.
assail ::: 1. To attack vigorously or violently; assault. 2. To impinge upon; make an impact on; beset. 3. To take upon oneself a difficult challenge with the intention of mastering it. assailed, assailing.
assault ::: a sudden violent attack; invasion; onslaught. assaults, assaulting.
assent ::: 1. Agreement, as to a proposal; concurrence. 2. Acquiescence; compliance, concession. assents, assenting.
assessed ::: evaluated (a person or thing); estimated (the quality, value, or extent of), gauged or judged.
assuage ::: to mitigate, alleviate, soothe, relieve (physical or mental pain).
assured ::: 1. Made certain; guaranteed. 2. Certified, verified. 3. Made secure or certain; confirmed. 4. Confident, characterized by certainty or security; satisfied as to the truth of something. assuring.
astir ::: moving or stirring, esp. with much activity or excitement.
astuce ::: astuteness, i.e. of keen penetration or discernment, sagacious.
aswapati ::: Sri Aurobindo: "Aswapati, the Lord of the Horse, her [Savitri"s] human father, is the Lord of Tapasya, the concentrated energy of spiritual endeavour that helps us to rise from the mortal to the immortal planes; . . . .” (From a letter written by Sri Aurobindo) Aswapati"s.
atavism ::: 1. The reappearance in an individual of characteristics of some remote ancestor that have been absent in intervening generations. 2. Reversion to an earlier type.
atmosphere ::: 1. A surrounding or pervading mood, environment, or influence. 2. The air.
atom ::: 1. A unit of matter, the smallest unit of an element, having all the characteristics of that element and consisting of a dense, central, positively charged nucleus surrounded by a system of electrons. 2. The smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element. 3. An extremely small part, quantity, or amount. The smallest conceivable unit of an element or of anything. atom"s, atoms, atomic.
attack ::: the act of setting upon with violent force.; launching a physical assault (against) attacks.
attain ::: 1. To gain as an objective; achieve; reach, arrive at; accomplish. 2. To arrive at, as by virtue of persistence or the passage of time; To reach in the course of development. attained.
attentive
attend ::: to listen to, pay attention to, give heed to; direct one"s energies toward.
auspice-hour ::: an auspice is any divine or prophetic token; a favourable sign or propitious circumstance, esp. an indication of a happy future. Sri Aurobindo combines the word ‘hour" with auspice to emphasize a special moment.
austere ::: 1. Severe in manner or appearance; uncompromising; strict; forbidding; stark. 2. Rigorously self-disciplined and severely moral; ascetic; abstinent. 3. Grave; sober; solemn; serious. 4. Without excess, luxury, or ease; severely simple; without ornament. austerity.
authentic ::: not false or copied; genuine; real, original. authenticity.
author ::: 1. An originator or creator, one who originates or gives existence to anything. 2. He who gives rise to or causes an action, event, circumstance, state, or condition of things. 3. The composer or writer of a treatise, play, poem, book, etc. authors.
autocracy ::: unlimited authority, power or influence; absolute government. autocracies.
autonomy ::: 1. Independence or freedom, as of the will or one"s actions. 2. Self-government. autonomies.
availed ::: to be of use, value, or advantage; to have the necessary force to accomplishment something.
avatars ::: Sri Aurobindo: "The word Avatar means a descent; it is a coming down of the Divine below the line which divides the divine from the human world or status.” *Essays on the Gita
avenge ::: to inflict a punishment or penalty in return for; take vengeance on behalf of. avenges.
avenues ::: lines or means of approach or access; paths of entrance or exit; often fig.
avid ::: having an ardent desire or unbounded craving; desirous of.
**"Aware of his occult omnipotent source,Allured by the omniscient Ecstasy,He felt the invasion and the nameless joy.”
awed ::: 1. inspired or influenced by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence; 2. Inspired with reverential wonder combined with an element of latent fear.
awful ::: 1. Inspiring fear; terrible, dreadful, appalling, awe-inspiring. 2. Extremely impressive. 3. Profoundly inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence.
babel ::: "The reference is to the mythological story of the construction of the Tower of Babel, which appears to be an attempt to explain the diversity of human languages. According to Genesis, the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves by building a mighty city and tower ‘with its top in the heavens". God disrupted the work by so confusing the language of the workers that they could no longer understand one another. The tower was never completed and the people were dispersed over the face of the earth.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica) Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works Sri Aurobindo: "The legend of the Tower of Babel speaks of the diversity of tongues as a curse laid on the race; but whatever its disadvantages, and they tend more and more to be minimised by the growth of civilisation and increasing intercourse, it has been rather a blessing than a curse, a gift to mankind rather than a disability laid upon it. The purposeless exaggeration of anything is always an evil, and an excessive pullulation of varying tongues that serve no purpose in the expression of a real diversity of spirit and culture is certainly a stumbling-block rather than a help: but this excess, though it existed in the past, is hardly a possibility of the future. The tendency is rather in the opposite direction. In former times diversity of language helped to create a barrier to knowledge and sympathy, was often made the pretext even of an actual antipathy and tended to a too rigid division. The lack of sufficient interpenetration kept up both a passive want of understanding and a fruitful crop of active misunderstandings. But this was an inevitable evil of a particular stage of growth, an exaggeration of the necessity that then existed for the vigorous development of strongly individualised group-souls in the human race. These disadvantages have not yet been abolished, but with closer intercourse and the growing desire of men and nations for the knowledge of each other"s thought and spirit and personality, they have diminished and tend to diminish more and more and there is no reason why in the end they should not become inoperative.” The Human Cycle
background ::: n.** 1. The general scene or surface against which designs, patterns, or figures are represented or viewed. 2. Fig. The complex of physical, cultural, and psychological factors that serves as the environment of an event or experience; the set of conditions against which an occurrence is perceived. backgrounds. adj. 3.** Of, pertaining to, or serving as a background.
balance ::: n. **1. A state of equilibrium or equipoise; mental, psychological or emotional. 2. A weighing device, especially one consisting of a rigid beam horizontally suspended by a low-friction support at its center, with identical weighing pans hung at either end, one of which holds an unknown weight while the effective weight in the other is increased by known amounts until the beam is level and motionless. 3. An undecided or uncertain state in which issues are unresolved. v. 4. To have an equality or equivalence in weight, parts, etc.; be in equilibrium. adj. 5. Being in harmonious or proper arrangement or adjustment, proportion. 6. Mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behaviour, judgement. balanced, balancing.**
bale ::: 1. Evil. 2. Woe, suffering, pain; 3. Mental suffering, anguish.
bank ::: a business establishment in which money is kept for saving or commercial purposes or is invested, supplied for loans, or exchanged.
bards ::: an ancient Celtic order of minstrel poets who composed and recited verses celebrating the legendary exploits of chieftains and heroes. 2. Poets, especially lyric poets.
bare ::: v. 1. To make bare; uncover or reveal. 2. Fig. To expose. bared, baring. adj. 3. Lacking clothing or covering; naked 4. Fig. Exposed to view; undisguised. 5. Just sufficient; mere. 6. Lacking embellishment or ornamentation; unembellished; simple; plain. 7. Unprotected; without defence. 8. Devoid of covering, a leafless trees. 9. Sheer, as bare cliffs. heaven-bare, bareness.
bargain ::: an agreement between parties fixing obligations, etc. that each promises to carry out.
bar ::: n. **1. Anything that obstructs or prevents; a barrier. v. 2. To obstruct, prevent, hinder, impede. bars, barred, barring.**
based ::: 1. Formed or established as a base. 2. Supported as a base. 3. Conceived as the fundamental principle or underlying concept.
basement ::: the substructure or foundation of a building usually below ground level.
base ::: n. 1. The fundamental principle or underlying concept of a system or theory; a basis, foundation. 2. A fundamental ingredient; a chief constituent. adj. 3. Having or showing a contemptible, mean-spirited, or selfish lack of human decency; morally low. base"s. baser.
basilicas ::: public buildings in ancient Rome having a central nave with an apse at one or both ends and two side aisles formed by rows of columns, which was used as an assembly hall – also Christian churches with a similar design.
bathe ::: 1. To become immersed in or as if in liquid, as a bath or in other substances or elements. 2. To wash or pour over; suffuse or envelope, like sunshine. bathed, bathing.
battlefield ::: 1. The field or ground on which a battle is fought. 2. An area of contention, conflict, or hostile opposition. battlefields.
bazaar ::: a market consisting of a street lined with shops and stalls, especially one in the Orient.
bent ::: personal inclination, propensity, tendency or aptitude.
beat ::: n. 1. A stroke or blow. 2. A regular sound or stroke. 3. The rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart. 4. A pulsating sound. 5. A forceful flapping of wings. beats, nerve-beat, hammer-beats, heart-beats, heart-beats", moment-beats, rhyme-beats. v. 6. To strike or pound with repeated blows. 7. To shape or break by repeated blows, as metal. 8. To sound in pulsations. 9. To throb rhythmically; pulsate, as the heart. 10. To flap, especially wings. 11. To strike with or as if with a series of violent blows, dash or pound repeatedly against, as waves, wind, etc. beats, beaten, beating. *adj. *sun-beat.
beauty ::: the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, colour, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else, (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest). Beauty, beauty"s, Beauty"s, beauty-drenched, earth-beauty"s.
beckoned ::: invited or enticed; lured. beckons.
behaviour ::: 1. Manner of behaving or conducting oneself. 2. The aggregate of the responses or reactions or movements made by an organism in any situation, or the manner in which a thing acts under such circumstances. behaviour"s.
being ::: 1. The state or quality of having existence. 2. The totality of all things that exist. 3. One"s basic or essential nature; self. 4. All the qualities constituting one that exists; the essence. 5. A person; human being. 6. The Divine, the Supreme; God. Being, being"s, Being"s, beings, Beings, beings", earth-being"s, earth-beings, fragment-being, non-being, non-being"s, Non-Being, Non-Being"s, world-being"s.
Sri Aurobindo: "Pure Being is the affirmation by the Unknowable of Itself as the free base of all cosmic existence.” *The Life Divine :::
"The Absolute manifests itself in two terms, a Being and a Becoming. The Being is the fundamental reality; the Becoming is an effectual reality: it is a dynamic power and result, a creative energy and working out of the Being, a constantly persistent yet mutable form, process, outcome of its immutable formless essence.” *The Life Divine
"What is original and eternal for ever in the Divine is the Being, what is developed in consciousness, conditions, forces, forms, etc., by the Divine Power is the Becoming. The eternal Divine is the Being; the universe in Time and all that is apparent in it is a Becoming.” Letters on Yoga
"Being and Becoming, One and Many are both true and are both the same thing: Being is one, Becomings are many; but this simply means that all Becomings are one Being who places Himself variously in the phenomenal movement of His consciousness.” The Upanishads :::
"Our whole apparent life has only a symbolic value & is good & necessary as a becoming; but all becoming has being for its goal & fulfilment & God is the only being.” *Essays Divine and Human
"Our being is a roughly constituted chaos into which we have to introduce the principle of a divine order.” The Synthesis of Yoga*
beings ::: things or entities that exist, esp. things or entities that cannot be assigned to any category.
belied ::: shown to be false; contradicted; gave a false representation to; misrepresented.
belief ::: 1. Confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof. 2. Trust or confidence, faith. 3. Something believed; an opinion or conviction. beliefs.
Question: "Sweet Mother, l don"t understand very clearly the difference between faith, belief and confidence.”
Mother: "But Sri Aurobindo has given the full explanation here. If you don"t understand, then. . . He has written ‘Faith is a feeling in the whole being." The whole being, yes. Faith, that"s the whole being at once. He says that belief is something that occurs in the head, that is purely mental; and confidence is quite different. Confidence, one can have confidence in life, trust in the Divine, trust in others, trust in one"s own destiny, that is, one has the feeling that everything is going to help him, to do what he wants to do. Faith is a certitude without any proof. Words of the Mother, MCW Vol. 6.
benignancies ::: qualities of kindness, gentleness and benevolence.
bestial ::: resembling a beast; brutal; savage; lacking refinement; depraved.
beyond ::: Sri Aurobindo: "The language of the Upanishad makes it strikingly clear that it is no metaphysical abstraction, no void Silence, no indeterminate Absolute which is offered to the soul that aspires, but rather the absolute of all that is possessed by it here in the relative world of its sojourning. All here in the mental is a growing light, consciousness and life; all there in the supramental is an infinite life, light and consciousness. That which is here shadowed, is there found; the incomplete here is there the fulfilled. The Beyond is not an annullation, but a transfiguration of all that we are here in our world of forms; it is sovran Mind of this mind, secret Life of this life, the absolute Sense which supports and justifies our limited senses.” The Upanishads *
binding ::: n. **1. The covering within which the pages of a book are abound. adj. 2.* Fig.* Commanding adherence to a commitment, obligatory.
bird ::: Sri Aurobindo: "The Bird in the Veda is the symbol, very frequently, of the soul liberated and upsoaring, at other times of energies so liberated and upsoaring, winging upwards towards the heights of our being, winging widely with a free flight, no longer involved in the ordinary limited movement or labouring gallop of the Life-energy, the Horse, Ashwa.” *The Secret of the Veda
"Birth is an assumption of a body by the spirit, death is the casting off [of] the body; there is nothing original in this birth, nothing final in this death. Before birth we were; after death we shall be. Nor are our birth and death a single episode without continuous meaning or sequel; it is one episode out of many, scenes of our drama of existence with its denouement far away in time.” Essays Divine and Human*
bit ::: cut into with or as with a sharp instrument or weapon. Also fig.
bits ::: small portions, pieces or amounts produced by cutting, or breaking; fragments.
bivouac ("s) ::: a temporary camp with shelters such as tents, as used by soldiers or mountaineers, often unprotected from an enemy.
bizarre ::: conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual in style or appearance; strange.
bizarrerie ::: strangeness or grotesqueness, especially strange or unconventional behaviour.
blank ::: n. 1. Fig. Any void space. blanks. adj. 2. Empty, without contents, void, bare. 3. Devoid of activity, interest, or distinctive character; empty. 4. Mere, bare, simple. 5. Lacking expression; expressionless, showing no interest or emotion, vacant. 6. Absolute; complete. blankness.
blaspheme ::: to speak in an irreverent, contemptuous or disrespectful manner; curse; (esp. God, a divine being or sacred things).
blaze ::: n. 1. A brilliant burst of fire, a bright glowing flame. 2. A brilliant, striking display; a brilliant light; resplendent with bright colour. 3. A steady, clear light. 4. Fig. An intense outburst of passion, etc. ::: sun-blaze. v. 5. blazed.
blazoned ::: proclaimed loudly or displayed ostentatiously or conspicuously.
blazon ::: the description or representation of a coat of arms or banner bearing the symbol of a coat of arms.
bleak ::: 1. Exposed to the elements; unsheltered and barren; desolate; cold and cutting; raw, windswept. 2. Offering little or no hope or encouragement.
blind ::: adj. 1. Unable to see; lacking the sense of sight; sightless. Also fig. 2. Unwilling or unable to perceive or understand. 3. Lacking all consciousness or awareness. 4. Not having or based on reason or intelligence; absolute and unquestioning. 5. Not characterized or determined by reason or control. 6. Purposeless; fortuitous, random. 7. Undiscriminating; heedless; reckless. 8. Enveloped in darkness; dark, dim, obscure. 9. Dense enough to form a screen. 10. Covered or concealed from sight; hidden from immediate view. 11. Having no openings or passages for light; (a window or door) walled up. blindest, half-blind. v. 12. To deprive of sight permanently or temporarily. 13. To make sightless momentarily; dazzle. blinded.* n. 14. A blind person, esp. as pl., those who are blind. 15. Fig.* Any thing or action intended to conceal one"s real intention; a pretence, a pretext; subterfuge.
blind alley ::: 1. A road, alley, etc. that is open only at one end. 2. A position or situation offering no hope of progress or improvement. 3. A situation in which no further progress can be made.
blindness ::: 1. A lack or impairment of vision. 2. *Fig.* Lack of vision or awareness.
blinkers ::: leather side pieces attached to a horse"s bridle to prevent sideways vision.
blink ::: n. **1. A glance, often with half-shut eyes; a wink. v. 2. To close and open one or both of the eyes rapidly; shut the eyelids momentarily and involuntarily; to wink for an instant. 3. To shut the eyes to; to evade, shirk, pass by, ignore. blinks, blinked.**
block ::: n. 1. A solid piece of a hard substance, such as wood, stone, etc. having one or more flat sides. Also fig. 2. Something that obstructs; an obstacle. blocks. *v. 3. To impede, retard, prevent or obstruct the progress or achievement of (someone or something). Also fig.*
blood-glued ::: in reference to the bloody shirt that stuck to the body of the Centaur.
blow ::: to produce a sound or cause to sound as by expelling a current of air.
bodied ::: v. 1. Furnished or provided with a body; embodied. 2. Gave shape to, gave bodily form to, exhibited in outward reality. 3. Represented; symbolized, typified. adj. 4. Possessing or existing in bodily form, endowed with material form. half-bodied, million-bodied, three-bodied, two-bodied.
bodily ::: 1. Physical as opposed to mental or spiritual. 2. Of, relating to, or belonging to the body or the physical nature of man.
body ::: 1. The entire material or physical structure of an organism, especially of a human or animal as differentiated from the soul. 2. The entire physical structure of a human being. 3. A mass of matter that is distinct from other masses. 4. Substance. 5. An agent or entity. 6. The mass of a thing. 7. A mass of matter that is distinct from other masses. 8. The largest or main part of anything; the foundation; central part. body"s, bodies.
"Body is the outward sign and lowest basis of the apparent division which Nature plunging into ignorance and self-nescience makes the starting-point for the recovery of unity by the individual soul, unity even in the midst of the most exaggerated forms of her multiple consciousness.” The Life Divine
boldness or daring without regard for conventional thought or other restrictions.
bond ::: 1. Something, such as a fetter, cord, or band, that binds, ties, or fastens things together. Also fig. 2. A duty, promise, or other obligation by which one is bound. 3. Something that binds one to a certain circumstance or line of behaviour. 4. A uniting force or tie; a link. 5. A binding agreement; a covenant. bonds.
booths ::: partly enclosed compartments or partitioned areas.
bordering ::: lying along or adjacent to the edge or border of something; adjoining.
border ::: n. 1. A part that forms the outer edge of something. 2. The line or frontier area separating political divisions or geographic regions; a boundary. 3. A strip of ground, as that at the edge of a garden or walk, an edging. borders. v. 4. To form the boundary of; be contiguous to. fig. To confine. 5. To lie adjacent to another. bordered.
borrowed ::: taken from another source, appropriated; assumed; adopted or adapted for the present.
bosom ::: 1. The breast. 2. Something likened to the human breast, such as the bosom of the earth, the sea. 2. The breast, conceived of as the centre of feelings or emotions. 3. Centre of; heart of. bosom"s, bosoms, bosomed, white-bosomed.
bounteous ::: 1. Giving or inclined to give generously. 2. Plentiful; abundant.
bowed ::: bent or curved.
bow ::: to bend (the head, knee, or body) to express greeting, consent, courtesy, acknowledgement, submission, or veneration. bows, bowed.
brave ::: possessing or exhibiting courage or courageous endurance. 2. *Archaic. Excellent; fine; admirable*.
brazen ::: shameless and bold; marked by flagrant and insolent audacity.
breaking ::: 1. Smashing, splitting, or dividing into parts violently; reducing to pieces or fragments. 2. Dawning upon; coming upon. 3. An opening made by breaking out from. breakings.
break in or into ::: to enter with force upon; force one"s way in.
breaks out or from ::: bursts or springs out from restraint, confinement, or concealment. Said of persons and things material, also of fire, light, etc.
break ::: v. 1. To destroy by or as if by shattering or crushing. 2. To force or make a way through (a barrier, etc.). 3. To vary or disrupt the uniformity or continuity of. 4. To overcome or put an end to. 5. To destroy or interrupt a regularity, uniformity, continuity, or arrangement of; interrupt. 6. To intrude upon; interrupt a conversation, etc. 7. To discontinue or sever an association, an agreement, or a relationship. **8. To overcome or wear down the spirit, strength, or resistance of. 9. (usually followed by in, into or out). 10. To filter or penetrate as sunlight into a room. 11. To come forth suddenly. 12. To utter suddenly; to express or start to express an emotion, mood, etc. 13. Said of waves, etc. when they dash against an obstacle, or topple over and become surf or broken water in the shallows. 14. To part the surface of water, as a ship or a jumping fish. breaks, broke, broken, breaking.* *n. 15.** An interruption or a disruption in continuity or regularity.
breast ::: 1. Each of two milk-secreting glandular organs on the chest of a woman; the human mammary gland. 2. The front of the body from the neck to the abdomen; chest. 3. Fig. The seat of the affection and emotion. 4. Fig. A source of nourishment. 5. Something likened to the human breast, as a surface, etc. breasts, breasts".
breath ::: 1. The air inhaled and exhaled in respiration. Also fig. 2. A momentary stirring of air, a slight gust. 3. Spirit or vitality; life. 4. The vapour, heat, or odour of exhaled air. Also fig. **5. A slight suggestion; hint; whisper. Breath,* *breath-fastened.**
breathe ::: 1. To be alive; live. 2. To take air, oxygen, etc., into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale; respire. Also fig. 3. To control the outgoing breath in producing voice and speech sounds. 4. To utter, especially quietly. 5. To make apparent or manifest; express; suggest. 6. To exhale (something); emit. 7. To impart as if by breathing; instil. 8. To move gently or blow lightly, as air. breathes, breathed, breathing. ::: To breathe upon fig. To taint; corrupt.
breeze ::: a light current of air; a gentle wind. breezes.
bride ::: 1. A woman who is about to be married or has recently been married. Also fig. 2. The divine creatrix. Bride, brides, earth-bride.
bridegroom ::: a man who is about to be married, or has recently been married.
bright ::: 1. Emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts; shining; radiant. 2. Magnificent; glorious. 3. Favourable or auspicious. 4. Fig. Characterized by happiness or gladness; full of promise and hope. 5. Distinct and clear to the mind, etc. 6. Intensely clear and vibrant in tone or quality. 7. Polished; glistening as with brilliant color. brighter, brightest, bright-hued, bright-pinioned, flame-bright, moon-bright, pearl-bright, sun-bright.
broad ::: 1. Wide in extent from side to side; of great breadth. 2. Of vast extent; spacious. 3. Broad in scope; extensive. 4. Clear and open; full; (said of daylight, etc.). broad-based, broad-flung.
bud ::: 1. A rudimentary inflorescence, i.e. flower bud. 2. *Fig. Something in an undeveloped or immature condition. *buds, honey-buds, lotus-bud.
buffer state ::: a nation lying between potentially hostile larger nations.
burn ::: 1. To be very eager; aflame with activity, as to be on fire. 2. To emit heat or light by as if by combustion; to flame.. 3. To give off light or to glow brightly. 4. To light; a candle; incense, etc.) as an offering. 5. To suffer punishment or death by or as if by fire; put to death by fire. 6. To injure, endanger, or damage with or as if with fire. 7. Fig. To be consumed with strong emotions; be aflame with desire; anger; etc. 8. To shine intensely; to seem to glow as if on fire. burns, burned, burnt, burning.
burning ::: adj. 1. Aflame; on fire. Also fig. 2. Very bright; glowing; luminous. 3. Characterized by intense emotion; passionate. 4. Urgent or crucial. 5. Extremely hot; scorching. 6. Very hot. ever-burning.* *n. 7. The state, process, sensation, or effect of being on fire, burned, or subjected to intense heat. altar-burnings.**
"But great art is not satisfied with representing the intellectual truth of things, which is always their superficial or exterior truth; it seeks for a deeper and original truth which escapes the eye of the mere sense or the mere reason, the soul in them, the unseen reality which is not that of their form and process but of their spirit.” The Human Cycle etc.
"But in the path of knowledge as it is practised in India concentration is used in a special and more limited sense. It means that removal of the thought from all distracting activities of the mind and that concentration of it on the idea of the One by which the soul rises out of the phenomenal into the one reality.” The Synthesis of Yoga*
buttressed ::: supported; reinforced; sustained as by a buttress; (an external structure built against a wall for support or reinforcement.)
bystander ::: one who is present at an event without participating in it; onlooker; spectator.
cabbala ::: 1 A body of mystical Jewish teachings based on an interpretation of hidden meanings in the Hebrew Scriptures. Among its central doctrines are, all creation is an emanation from the Deity and the soul exists from eternity. 2. Any secret or occult doctrine or science. 3. "Esoteric system of interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures based on the assumption that every word, letter, number, and accent in them has an occult meaning. The system, oral at first, claimed great antiquity, but was really the product of the Middle Ages, arising in the 7th century and lasting into the 18th. It was popular chiefly among Jews, but spread to Christians as well. (Col. Enc.)” Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works
cadence ::: 1. Balanced, rhythmic flow, as of poetry or oratory. 2. Music. A sequence of notes or chords that indicates the momentary or complete end of a composition, section, phrase, etc. 3. The flow or rhythm of events. 4. A recurrent rhythmical series; a flow, esp. the pattern in which something is experienced. 5. A slight falling in pitch of the voice in speaking or reading. cadences.
calamity ::: 1. An event that brings terrible loss, lasting distress, or severe affliction; a disaster. 2. Dire distress resulting from loss or tragedy. calamities.
calculus ::: a method of calculation, esp. one of several highly systematic methods of treating problems by a special system of algebraic notations, as differential or integral calculus.
call ::: Sri Aurobindo: "All Yoga is in its nature a new birth; it is a birth out of the ordinary, the mentalised material life of man into a higher spiritual consciousness and a greater and diviner being. No Yoga can be successfully undertaken and followed unless there is a strong awakening to the necessity of that larger spiritual existence. The soul that is called to this deep and vast inward change, may arrive in different ways to the initial departure. It may come to it by its own natural development which has been leading it unconsciously towards the awakening; it may reach it through the influence of a religion or the attraction of a philosophy; it may approach it by a slow illumination or leap to it by a sudden touch or shock; it may be pushed or led to it by the pressure of outward circumstances or by an inward necessity, by a single word that breaks the seals of the mind or by long reflection, by the distant example of one who has trod the path or by contact and daily influence. According to the nature and the circumstances the call will come.” *The Synthesis of Yoga
calvary ::: a hill outside ancient Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified.
camouflage ::: concealment by some means that alters or obscures the appearance.
camp ::: n. 1. A place where tents, huts, or other temporary shelters are set up, as by soldiers, nomads, or travelers. 2. The people using such shelters. 3. Temporary living quarters for soldiers or prisoners. v. 4. To make or set up a camp. or to live temporarily in or as if in a camp or outdoors. 5. To settle down securely and comfortably; become ensconced. camps, camped.
canvas ::: 1. A piece of such fabric on which a painting, especially an oil painting, is executed. 2. A painting executed on such fabric, esp. an oil painting. 3. The background against which events unfold. canvases, canvas-strips.
capable ::: having the capacity or ability; efficient and able.
capacity ::: 1. The ability to receive, hold, or absorb. 2. The power to learn or retain knowledge; mental ability.
cape ::: a sleeveless outer garment fastened at the throat and worn hanging over the shoulders.
capital ::: 1. A town or city that is the official seat of government in a political entity, such as a state or nation. 2. Wealth in the form of money or property.
capitol ::: 1. A building occupied by a state legislature. 2. A building that is the seat of government. Also fig.
capture ::: 1. To take possession of; to take by force or stratagem; take prisoner; seize. 2. To represent, preserve or record in lasting form, a quality, etc. captures, captured, capturing.
careful ::: 1. Attentive to potential danger, error, or harm; cautious. 2. Exercising caution or showing care or attention to; circumspect.
careless ::: 1. Unconcerned or indifferent; heedless. 2. Taking insufficient care; negligent; inattentive.
carelessly ::: without attention, caution or prudence.
carelessness ::: the quality of not being careful or taking pains; being negligent.
care ::: n. **1. A burdened state of mind, as that arising from heavy responsibilities; worry. 2. An object of or cause for concern. 3. Watchful oversight; charge or supervision. 4. An object or source of worry, attention, or solicitude. care, cares. v. 5. To be concerned or interested, have concern for. cares, cared.**
caress ::: n. 1. A gentle touch or gesture of fondness, tenderness, or love. v. 2. To touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner. caressed, caressing.
caricature ::: a grotesque imitation, misrepresentation or distorted image, as a drawing or description of a person which exaggerates characteristic features for comic effect.
case ::: 1. A set of reasons or supporting facts; an argument. 2. The facts or evidence offered in support of a claim.
casements ::: window sashes that open outward by means of hinges.
caste-mark ::: (In India) a mark, usually on the forehead, symbolising and identifying caste membership.
casual ::: 1. Occurring by chance; accidental. 2. Occurring offhand; not premeditated. 3. Occurring at irregular or infrequent intervals; occasional. 4. Without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing.
cause ::: 1. A person or thing that acts, happens, or exists in such a way that some specific thing happens as a result; the producer of an effect. 2. A basis for an action or response; a reason. 3. Grounds for action; motive; justification. 4. Good or sufficient reason. 5. The principle, ideal, goal, or movement to which a person or group is dedicated. Cause.
cautious ::: showing or practicing caution; careful, prudent, guarded, tentative or restrained.
centaur ::: greek Mythology, one of a race of monsters having the head, arms, and trunk of a man and the body and legs of a horse. centaur"s, Centaur, Centaur"s.** ::: *
central
centre
::: centuried
centuries ::: periods of 100 years.
centurion ::: the commander of a century (100 men) in the Roman army.
cell ::: 1. A small humble abode, such as a hermit"s cave or hut. 2. A narrow confining room, as in a prison or convent.
cell ::: biology: The smallest structural unit of an organism that is capable of independent functioning, consisting of one or more nuclei, cytoplasm, and various organelles, all surrounded by a semipermeable cell membrane. cells.
cemented ::: bound with or as if with cement.
cenotaphs ::: monuments erected in honour of dead persons whose remains lie elsewhere.
cestus ::: a girdle or belt, esp. as worn in ancient Greece.
chamber ::: 1. Archaic or poetic: A room in a private house, esp. a bedroom. 2. An enclosed space; compartment. chamber"s, chambers, work-chamber.
champion ::: an ardent defender or supporter of a cause.
chance ::: n. 1. The absence of any cause of events that can be predicted, understood, or controlled: often personified or treated as a positive agency. 2. The happening of events; the way in which things happen; fortune. 3. An opportune or favourable time; opportunity. 4. Fortune; luck; fate. Chance, chances. *adj.* 5. Not planned or expected; accidental. v. 6. To happen by chance; be the case by chance.** chanced.
change ::: v. 1. To make the form, nature, content, future course, etc. of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone. 2. To become different or undergo alteration. changes, changed, changing, ever-changing.* n. 3. The act or fact of changing; transformation or modification of anything. Change, changes, soul-change.
charged ::: 1. Filled; loaded to capacity. 2. Given the responsibility of or for; entrusted.
chariot ::: an ancient horse-drawn, four-wheeled carriage used for occasions of ceremony or transport. chariot"s, chariots, chariot-course.
charlatan ::: one who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud; a flamboyant deceiver.
chase ::: v. **1. To follow rapidly in order to catch or overtake; pursue. 2. To follow or devote one"s attention to with the hope of attracting, winning, gaining, etc. 3. To put to flight; drive out. ::: —chases, chased.* *n. 3. The act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture thunder-chase.**
chastisement ::: verbal (often physical) punishment; discipline.
check ::: v. 1. To investigate, examine or verify as to correctness; examine carefully or in detail; to ascertain the truth about. 2. To inspect so as to determine accuracy, authenticity, quality, or other condition; test. checked.* n. *3. A person or thing that stops, limits, slows, or restrains.
chiaroscuro ::: 1. The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art. 2. *Poetic*: Contrasting sense as in, darkness and light, ‘joy and gloom", ‘praise and blame," etc.
childhood ::: 1. The time or state of being a child. 2. The early stage in the existence or development of something. childhood"s.
chill ::: adj. 1. Cold, often unpleasantly so; numbing. 2. Discouraging; dispiriting. 3. Unduly formal; unfriendly; unfeeling. v. 4. To lower in temperature; cool; make cold. 5. Fig. To depress (enthusiasm, etc.); discourage. chilled, chilling.
chimaera ::: 1. A mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion"s head, a goat"s body, and a serpent"s tail. 2. A horrible or unreal creature of the imagination. chimaeras.
chime ::: to be in agreement or accord: harmonize; be compatible with.
chipped ::: broke or cut off a small piece or into small pieces with an implement such as an axe, etc. Also fig.
chrysalis ::: 1. The hard sheath encasing the larvae from which the mature insect emerges. 2. A protected stage of development.
chrysoprase ::: a brittle, translucent, semiprecious chalcedony (q.v.), a variety of the silica mineral quartz. It owes its bright apple-green colour to colloidally dispersed hydrated nickel silicate. Valued in ancient times as it shone in the dark.
cipher ::: n. 1. Something having no influence or value; a zero; a nonentity. 2. A secret method of writing, as by transposition or substitution of letters, specially formed symbols, or the like. unintelligible to all but those possessing the key; a cryptograph. ciphers. *v. 3. To put in secret writing; encode. *ciphers. Note: Sri Aurobindo also spelled the word as Cypher, the old English spelling.
circe ::: 1. In Classical Mythology. the enchantress represented by Homer as turning the companions of Odysseus into swine by means of a magic drink, therefore an alluring but dangerous temptress or temptation.
circumambient ::: encompassing on all sides; surrounding.
circumstance ::: 1. A condition, fact or detail attending an event and having some bearing on it; a determining or modifying factor. 2. A particular incident or occurrence. Circumstance.
citizen ::: a person owing loyalty to and entitled by birth or naturalization to the protection of a state or nation. citizens.
clamorous ::: 1. Full of, marked by, or of the nature of clamour; shouting; noisy, loud. 2. Insistently demanding attention; importunate.
clamour ::: 1. A loud uproar, as from a crowd of people. 2. A vehement expression of collective feeling or outrage. 3. A loud and persistent noise. clamours. clamouring.
clarity ::: 1. Clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity. 2. The state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye; pellucidity; brightness, splendour.
clause ::: a distinct article, stipulation, or provision, in a document.
clauses, items, points, or particulars in a contract, treaty, or other formal agreement; conditions or stipulations in a contract.
clavichord ::: an early keyboard instrument producing a soft sound by means of metal blades attached to the inner ends of the keys gently striking the strings.
clay ::: 1. A natural earthy material that is plastic when wet, consisting essentially of hydrated silicates of aluminium: used for making bricks, pottery, etc. 2. The material which is said to form the human body. 3. The human body, esp. as opposed to the spirit. clay-kin.
cleansed ::: freed from dirt, defilement, or guilt; purged or cleaned. cleansing.
clear ::: 1. Not obscured or darkened; bright. 2. Free from darkness, obscurity, or cloudiness; transparent. 3. Serene; calm; untroubled. 4. Free from doubt or confusion; certain. 5. Easily perceptible to the eye or ear; distinct. 6. Easily understood; without ambiguity. 7. Free from impediment, obstruction, or hindrance; open. clearer, sun-clear, surface-clear.
cleave ::: 1. To split with or as if with a sharp instrument. 2. To pierce or penetrate. cleaves, cloven, cleaving.
climax ::: the highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something; culmination.
cloak ::: 1. A loose outer garment, such as a cape. 2. Anything that covers or conceals. 3. Something that covers or conceals; a disguise. world-cloak.
clothe ::: 1. To cover as if with clothing. 2. To present in a specific form. 3. To furnish or invest with power or authority or endue or endow attributes, qualities. 4. To cover or envelop (something) so as to change its appearance, as the face of the earth. clothes, clothed.
clusters ::: a group of the same or similar elements gathered or occurring closely together.
cobweb ::: a web spun by a spider to entrap its prey. cobweb-wrapped
coïl ::: a large bird belonging to the cuckoo family, native to India, with a characteristic call reminiscent of the sound of its name. coïl"s
coilas ::: (Most often spelled Kailas.) "One of the highest and most rugged mountains of the Himalayan range, located in the southwestern part of China. It is an important holy site both to the Hindus, who identify it with the paradise of Shiva and also regard it as the abode of Kubera, and to the Tibetan Buddhists, who identify it with Mount Sumeru, cosmic centre of the universe.” Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works
coil ::: n. **1. A series of connected spirals or concentric rings formed by gathering or winding. 2. Such a series resembling a serpent or a vine. v. 3. To form concentric rings or spirals. 4. To move in a spiral course. coils, coiled, coiling, coilings.**
coin ::: 1. A small piece of metal, usually flat and circular, authorized by a government for use as money. 2. A mode of expression considered standard, a symbol; token.
cold-hearted ::: lacking sympathy or feeling; indifferent; unkind, unfeeling.
colony ::: a group of emigrants or their descendants who settle in a distant territory but remain subject to or closely associated with the parent country. colonies.
columns ::: long, narrow formations of troops in which there are more members in line in the direction of movement than at right angles to the direction.—(distinguished from line).
comedy ::: 1. The comic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life. 2. A humorous element of life or literature. Comedy (see also Divine Comedy).
comforts ::: a condition or feeling of pleasurable ease, well-being, and contentment.
commandment (‘s) ::: a divine command; an edict.
common ::: 1. Belonging equally to or shared alike by two or more. 2. Of or relating to the community or humanity as a whole. 3. Belonging equally to or shared equally by two or more; joint. 4. Not distinguished by superior or noteworthy characteristics; average; ordinary. 5. Occurring frequently or habitually; usual. commonest.
communiqué ::: an official communication or announcement, esp. to the press or public.
community ::: 1. An assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area. 2. Identity.
compact ::: an agreement or a covenant.
compass ::: an instrument for determining directions, as by means of a freely rotating magnetized needle that indicates magnetic north.
compeer ::: 1. An equal in rank, ability, accomplishment, etc.; peer; colleague. 2. A comrade, companion, or associate. compeers.
compendium ::: 1. A brief treatment or account of a subject, esp. an extensive subject; concise treatise. 2. A short, complete summary; an abstract.
compensates ::: makes satisfactory payment or reparation to; recompenses or reimburses.
complained ::: expressed feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment. complaining.
complaint ::: an expression of pain, dissatisfaction, discontent or resentment.
complements ::: 1. Things that complete, make up a whole, or bring to perfection. 2. Things that complete each other when combined and complete the whole.
complete ::: adj. 1. Having all necessary or normal parts, components, or steps; entire. 2. Thorough; consummate; fully realised. n. completeness. *v. *3. To bring to a finish or an end.
composed ::: to be made up, formed, compounded of (a material, or constituent elements); to be constituted; to consist of.
compose ::: to make or create by putting together parts or elements.
compound ::: to combine so as to form a whole; mix; mix (elements). mix with.
compromise ::: 1. A settlement of differences in which each side makes concessions.
concentrated
"Concentration means fixing the consciousness in one place or on one object and in a single condition.” Letters on Yoga
concentration ("s) ::: exclusive attention to one object; close mental application.
"Concentration simply means a fixing of consciousness on something.” Guidance from Sri Aurobindo by Nagin Doshi - Vol. 1
concentric ::: having a common center.
conceive ::: 1. To form or hold an idea. 2. To begin, originate, or found (something) in a particular way (usually used in the passive). 3. To apprehend mentally; understand. 4. To be created or formed in the womb; to be engendered; begotten. conceives, conceived, self-conceived.
concept ::: 1. An idea, esp. an abstract idea or notion. 2. An idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct. 3. A directly conceived or intuited object of thought. concept"s, concept-maps.
conceptual ::: of or relating to concepts or mental conception.
conclaves ::: 1. Secret or confidential meetings. 2. Assemblies or gatherings, esp. those that have special authority, power, or influence.
concordat ::: an agreement, a compact, esp. an official one.
concords ::: harmony or agreement of interests or feelings; accords.
condemned ::: 1. Pronounced judgment against; sentenced. 2. Forced into a specific state or activity. condemning.
confident ::: 1. Having or showing confidence or certainty; sure. 2. Sure of oneself; having no uncertainty about one"s own abilities, correctness, successfulness, etc.; self-confident; bold.
confine ::: 1. To enclose within bounds, limit, restrict. 2. To shut or keep in; prevent from leaving a place because of imprisonment, illness, discipline, etc. confined.
confines ::: 1. The limits of a space or area; the borders. 2. A bounded scope. 3. Restraining elements.
conflicting ::: in disagreement or opposition.
conquer ::: 1. To defeat or subdue by force, especially by force of arms. 2. To overcome (an enemy, army, etc.); defeat. 3. To overcome or surmount by physical, mental, or moral force. conquers, conquered, conquering.
::: consent
conscient ::: fully conscious.
conscious ::: 1. Having an awareness of one"s environment and one"s own existence, sensations, and thoughts. 2. Conscious implies being awake or awakened to an inner realization of a fact, a truth, a condition. half-conscious, half-consciously.
*consciousforce. ::: Sri Aurobindo: "In actual fact Mind measures Time by event and Space by Matter; but it is possible in pure mentality to disregard the movement of event and the disposition of substance and realise the pure movement of Conscious-Force which constitutes Space and Time; these two are then merely two aspects of the universal force of Consciousness which in their intertwined interaction comprehend the warp and woof of its action upon itself. And to a consciousness higher than Mind which should regard our past, present and future in one view, containing and not contained in them, not situated at a particular moment of Time for its point of prospection, Time might well offer itself as an eternal present. And to the same consciousness not situated at any particular point of Space, but containing all points and regions in itself, Space also might well offer itself as a subjective and indivisible extension, — no less subjective than Time.” The Life Divine
::: "Consciousness is usually identified with mind, but mental consciousness is only the human range which no more exhausts all the possible ranges of consciousness than human sight exhausts all the gradations of colour or human hearing all the gradations of sound — for there is much above or below that is to man invisible and inaudible. So there are ranges of consciousness above and below the human range, with which the normal human has no contact and they seem to it unconscious, — supramental or overmental and submental ranges.” *Letters on Yoga
::: ‘Consecration" generally has a more mystical sense but this is not absolute. A total consecration signifies a total giving of one"s self; hence it is the equivalent of the word ``surrender"", not of the word (soumission} which always gives the impression that one accepts'' passively. You feel a flame in the wordconsecration"", a flame even greater than in the word offering''. To consecrate oneself isto give oneself to an action""; hence, in the yogic sense, it is to give oneself to some divine work with the idea of accomplishing the divine work.” Questions and Answers, MCW Vol. 4*.
conserved ::: 1. Prevented the waste or loss of; preserved. 2. Carefully protected; preserved.
consigned ::: handed over or given into the care or charge of another; entrusted.
consistency ::: agreement or harmony between parts of something complex; compatibility.
constant ::: 1. Unchanging in nature, value, or extent; invariable. 2. Continuing without pause or letup; unceasing. 3. Steadfast; firm in mind or purpose; resolute.
constellations ::: any of the 88 groups of stars as seen from the earth and the solar system, many of which were named by the ancient Greeks after animals, objects, or mythological persons.
constituent ::: serving as part of a whole; component.
consummation ::: an ultimate goal or end; fulfilment.
contain ::: 1. To be capable of holding. 2. To halt the spread or development of; check, esp. of opposition. 3. To hold or keep within limits; restrain. contained, contains, containing, all-containing, All-containing.
contents ::: things contained or held, as in a receptacle. Often used in the plural.
content ::: the state of being satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else. contents, contented.
context ::: 1. The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning. 2. The set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.
continent ::: 1. Mainland as opposed to islands. 2. A continuous extent of land. Also fig. continents.
continuous ::: uninterrupted in time, sequence, substance, or extent.
contract ::: an agreement between two or more parties, especially one that is written and enforceable by law.
contract ::: to reduce in size by drawing together; shrink; concentrate. contracting.
contradict ::: to assert or express the opposite of (a statement). contradicted, contradicting.
contrast ::: a difference, especially a strong dissimilarity, between entities or objects compared.
contrivance ::: 1. The act or faculty of devising or adapting; inventive skill or ability esp. in a negative sense. 2. The act or manner of contriving; the faculty or power of contriving. inventing or making with thought and skill; invention.
control-room ::: a room housing control equipment where certain operations are conducted.
convention ::: a method, practice or procedure widely observed in a group, especially to facilitate social interaction; a custom. conventions.
convince ::: 1. To move by argument or evidence to belief, agreement, consent, or a course of action; persuade.
convinced ::: brought by the use of argument or evidence to a firm belief or a course of action.
convulsing ::: shaking violently; agitating physically.
core ::: the central, innermost, or most essential part of something.
cornices ::: prominent, continuous, horizontally projecting features surmounting a wall or other construction, or dividing it horizontally for compositional purposes; i.e. to crown or complete a building.
coronet ::: 1. A crown worn by nobles or peers. 2. A crown-like ornament decorated with gold or jewels.
cosmic mind ::: Sri Aurobindo: "Nevertheless, the fact of this intervention from above, the fact that behind all our original thinking or authentic perception of things there is a veiled, a half-veiled or a swift unveiled intuitive element is enough to establish a connection between mind and what is above it; it opens a passage of communication and of entry into the superior spirit-ranges. There is also the reaching out of mind to exceed the personal ego limitation, to see things in a certain impersonality and universality. Impersonality is the first character of cosmic self; universality, non-limitation by the single or limiting point of view, is the character of cosmic perception and knowledge: this tendency is therefore a widening, however rudimentary, of these restricted mind areas towards cosmicity, towards a quality which is the very character of the higher mental planes, — towards that superconscient cosmic Mind which, we have suggested, must in the nature of things be the original mind-action of which ours is only a derivative and inferior process.” *The Life Divine
"If we accept the Vedic image of the Sun of Truth, . . . we may compare the action of the Higher Mind to a composed and steady sunshine, the energy of the Illumined Mind beyond it to an outpouring of massive lightnings of flaming sun-stuff. Still beyond can be met a yet greater power of the Truth-Force, an intimate and exact Truth-vision, Truth-thought, Truth-sense, Truth-feeling, Truth-action, to which we can give in a special sense the name of Intuition; . . . At the source of this Intuition we discover a superconscient cosmic Mind in direct contact with the supramental Truth-Consciousness, an original intensity determinant of all movements below it and all mental energies, — not Mind as we know it, but an Overmind that covers as with the wide wings of some creative Oversoul this whole lower hemisphere of Knowledge-Ignorance, links it with that greater Truth-Consciousness while yet at the same time with its brilliant golden Lid it veils the face of the greater Truth from our sight, intervening with its flood of infinite possibilities as at once an obstacle and a passage in our seeking of the spiritual law of our existence, its highest aim, its secret Reality.” The Life Divine
"There is one cosmic Mind, one cosmic Life, one cosmic Body. All the attempt of man to arrive at universal sympathy, universal love and the understanding and knowledge of the inner soul of other existences is an attempt to beat thin, breach and eventually break down by the power of the enlarging mind and heart the walls of the ego and arrive nearer to a cosmic oneness.” *The Synthesis of Yoga
"[The results of the opening to the cosmic Mind:] One is aware of the cosmic Mind and the mental forces that move there and how they work on one"s mind and that of others and one is able to deal with one"s own mind with a greater knowledge and effective power. There are many other results, but this is the fundamental one.” Letters on Yoga
"The cosmic consciousness has many levels — the cosmic physical, the cosmic vital, the cosmic Mind, and above the higher planes of cosmic Mind there is the Intuition and above that the overmind and still above that the supermind where the Transcendental begins. In order to live in the Intuition plane (not merely to receive intuitions), one has to live in the cosmic consciousness because there the cosmic and individual run into each other as it were, and the mental separation between them is already broken down, so nobody can reach there who is still in the separative ego.” Letters on Yoga*
cosmic Self ::: Sri Aurobindo: "When one has the cosmic consciousness, one can feel the cosmic Self as one"s own self, one can feel one with other beings in the cosmos, one can feel all the forces of Nature as moving in oneself, all selves as one"s own self. There is no why except that it is so, since all is the One.” Letters on Yoga (See also Cosmic Spirit)
"Impersonality is the first character of cosmic self; . . . .” *The Life Divine
"An eternal infinite self-existence is the supreme reality, but the supreme transcendent eternal Being, Self and Spirit, — an infinite Person, we may say, because his being is the essence and source of all personality, — is the reality and meaning of self-existence: so too the cosmic Self, Spirit, Being, Person is the reality and meaning of cosmic existence; the same Self, Spirit, Being or Person manifesting its multiplicity is the reality and meaning of individual existence.” The Life Divine
"But this cosmic self is spiritual in essence and in experience; it must not be confused with the collective existence, with any group soul or the life and body of a human society or even of all mankind.” The Synthesis of Yoga
"It is the Cosmic Self and Spirit that is in and behind all things and beings, from which and in which all is manifested in the universe — although it is now a manifestation in the Ignorance.” Letters on Yoga*
cosmic vision ::: Sri Aurobindo: "Cosmic vision is the seeing of the universal movements — it has nothing to do with the psychic necessarily. It can be in the universal mind, the universal vital, the universal physical or anywhere.” Letters on Yoga*
cosmogonic ::: relating to a theory or story of the origin and development of the universe, the solar system, or the earth-moon system.
costume ::: n. A style of dress, including garments, accessories, and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period, or people. costumes. *v. 2. To furnish with a mode of attire, set of garments; dress. *costuming.
couched ::: arranged or framed (words, a sentence, etc.); put into words; expressed.
counterfeits ::: imitations intended to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; forgeries.
course ::: 1. A direction or route taken or to be taken. 2. The path, route, or channel along which anything moves. 3. Advance or progression in a particular direction; forward or onward movement. 4. The continuous passage or progress through time or a succession of stages. chariot-course.
court ::: 1. An extent of open ground partially or completely enclosed by walls or buildings; a courtyard. 2. The place of residence of a sovereign or dignitary; a royal mansion or palace. courts, courtyard, courtyard"s.
covenant ::: a binding agreement; a compact. covenants.
covert ::: 1. Secret or hidden from view or knowledge; not openly practiced or engaged in, shown or avowed. 2. Concealment; secrecy. 3. A covered place or shelter; hiding place.
cowl ::: n. 1. The hood or hooded robe worn especially by a monk. 2. A hood, especially a loose one; garment. v. 3. To cover with or as with a cowl.
cradle ::: n. 1. A small low bed for an infant, often furnished with rockers. 2. Where something originated or was nurtured in its early existence. cradles v. 2.* *To hold gently and carefully as in a cradle. 3. To hold gently or protectively. cradles, cradled.**
crash ::: v. 1. To break violently or noisily; smash; shatter into pieces. crashed, crashing.* n. 2. A sudden loud noise, as of an object breaking. 3. *An act or instance of breaking and falling to pieces.
fig. Hearts filled with despair; disillusionment; devastating sorrow, especially from disappointment or tragedy in love.
"First, we affirm an Absolute as the origin and support and secret Reality of all things. The Absolute Reality is indefinable and ineffable by mental thought and mental language; it is self-existent and self-evident to itself, as all absolutes are self-evident, but our mental affirmatives and negatives, whether taken separatively or together, cannot limit or define it.” The Life Divine
Heart-lotus — emotional centre. The psychic is behind it.
"Here we live in an organisation of mortal consciousness which takes the form of a transient world; there we are liberated into the harmonies of an infinite self-seeing which knows all world in the light of the eternal and immortal. The Beyond is our reality; that is our plenitude; that is the absolute satisfaction of our self-existence. It is immortality and it is ‘That Delight".” The Upanishads *beyond
**"I certainly won"t have ‘attracted" [in place of ‘allured"] — there is an enormous difference between the force of the two words and merely ‘attracted by the Ecstasy" would take away all my ecstasy in the line — nothing so tepid can be admitted. Neither do I want ‘thrill" [in place of ‘joy"] which gives a false colour — precisely it would mean that the ecstasy was already touching him with its intensity which is far from my intention.Your statement that ‘joy" is just another word for ‘ecstasy" is surprising. ‘Comfort", ‘pleasure", ‘joy", ‘bliss", ‘rapture", ‘ecstasy" would then be all equal and exactly synonymous terms and all distinction of shades and colours of words would disappear from literature. As well say that ‘flashlight" is just another word for ‘lightning" — or that glow, gleam, glitter, sheen, blaze are all equivalents which can be employed indifferently in the same place. One can feel allured to the supreme omniscient Ecstasy and feel a nameless joy touching one without that Joy becoming itself the supreme Ecstasy. I see no loss of expressiveness by the joy coming in as a vague nameless hint of the immeasurable superior Ecstasy.” Letters on Savitri*
"I may say that the opening upwards, the ascent into the Light and the subsequent descent into the ordinary consciousness and normal human life is very common as the first decisive experience in the practice of yoga and may very well happen even without the practice of yoga in those who are destined for the spiritual change, especially if there is a dissatisfaction somewhere with the ordinary life and a seeking for something more, greater or better.” Letters on Yoga*
inspiring mingled reverence and admiration; impressing the emotions or imagination as magnificent; majestic, stately, sublime, solemnly grand; venerable, revered; of supreme dignity.
::: ". . . in such a view, the word consciousness changes its meaning. It is no longer synonymous with mentality but indicates a self-aware force of existence of which mentality is a middle term; below mentality it sinks into vital and material movements which are for us subconscient; above, it rises into the supramental which is for us the superconscient. But in all it is one and the same thing organising itself differently. This is, once more, the Indian conception of Chit which, as energy, creates the worlds.” *The Life Divine
"In the subconscient knowledge or consciousness is involved in action, for action is the essence of Life.” The Life Divine
"It is not possible for the individual mind, so long as it remains shut up in its personality, to understand the workings of the Cosmic Will, for the standards made by the personal consciousness are not applicable to them. A cell in the body, if conscious, might also think that the human being and its actions are only the resultant of the relations and workings of a number of cells like itself and not the action of a unified self. It is only if one enters into the Cosmic Consciousness that one begins to see the forces at work and the lines on which they work and get a glimpse of the Cosmic Self and the Cosmic Mind and Will.” Letters on Yoga
"It [the Cosmic Spirit] uses Truth and Falsehood, Knowledge and Ignorance and all the other dualities as elements in the manifestation and works out what has to be worked out till all is ready for a higher working.” Letters on Yoga*
". . . [man"s] nature calls for a human intermediary so that he may feel the Divine in something entirely close to his own humanity and sensible in a human influence and example. This call is satisfied by the Divine manifest in a human appearance, the Incarnation, the Avatar. . . .” The Synthesis of Yoga
"Mind, life and body, the soul in the succession of Time, the conscient, subconscient and superconscient, — these in their various relations and the result of their relations are cosmos and are Nature.” The Life Divine
"Moreover we see that this cosmic action or any cosmic action is impossible without the play of an infinite Force of Existence which produces and regulates all these forms and movements; and that Force equally presupposes or is the action of an infinite Consciousness, because it is in its nature a cosmic Will determining all relations and apprehending them by its own mode of awareness, and it could not so determine and apprehend them if there were no comprehensive Consciousness behind that mode of cosmic awareness to originate as well as to hold, fix and reflect through it the relations of Being in the developing formation or becoming of itself which we call a universe.” The Life Divine
n. 1. Acceptance or approval of what is planned or done by another; acquiescence. v. 2. To give assent, as to the proposal of another; agree. consents, consented, consenting.
n. 1. The point, axis, or pivot about which a body rotates. 2. A point, area, or part that is approximately in the middle of a larger area or volume. 3. A person or thing that is a focus of interest or attention. 4. A point of origin. centre"s, centres. v. 5. To focus or bring together. 6. To move towards, mark, put, or be concentrated at or as at a centre. 7. centred. Brought together to a centre, concentrated.
"Ordinarily we mean by it [consciousness] our first obvious idea of a mental waking consciousness such as is possessed by the human being during the major part of his bodily existence, when he is not asleep, stunned or otherwise deprived of his physical and superficial methods of sensation. In this sense it is plain enough that consciousness is the exception and not the rule in the order of the material universe. We ourselves do not always possess it. But this vulgar and shallow idea of the nature of consciousness, though it still colours our ordinary thought and associations, must now definitely disappear out of philosophical thinking. For we know that there is something in us which is conscious when we sleep, when we are stunned or drugged or in a swoon, in all apparently unconscious states of our physical being. Not only so, but we may now be sure that the old thinkers were right when they declared that even in our waking state what we call then our consciousness is only a small selection from our entire conscious being. It is a superficies, it is not even the whole of our mentality. Behind it, much vaster than it, there is a subliminal or subconscient mind which is the greater part of ourselves and contains heights and profundities which no man has yet measured or fathomed.” Letters on Yoga
*Sri Aurobindo: "Action is the first power of life. Nature begins with force and its works which, once conscious in man, become will and its achievements; therefore it is that by turning his action Godwards the life of man best and most surely begins to become divine.” The Synthesis of Yoga
*(Sri Aurobindo: "And finally all is lifted up and taken into the supermind and made a part of the infinitely luminous consciousness, knowledge and experience of the supramental being, the Vijnana Purusha.” The Synthesis of Yoga*) ::: Angel of the House. The guardian spirit of the home.
Sri Aurobindo: "Birth is the first spiritual mystery of the physical universe, death is the second which gives its double point of perplexity to the mystery of birth; for life, which would otherwise be a self-evident fact of existence, becomes itself a mystery by virtue of these two which seem to be its beginning and its end and yet in a thousand ways betray themselves as neither of these things, but rather intermediate stages in an occult processus of life.” *The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "But if the individual is a persistent reality, an eternal portion or power of the Eternal, if his growth of consciousness is the means by which the Spirit in things discloses its being, the cosmos reveals itself as a conditioned manifestation of the play of the eternal One in the being of Sachchidananda with the eternal Many.” *The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "By aesthesis is meant a reaction of the consciousness, mental and vital and even bodily, which receives a certain element in things, something that can be called their taste, Rasa, which, passing through the mind or sense or both, awakes a vital enjoyment of the taste, Bhoga, and this can again awaken us, awaken even the soul in us to something yet deeper and more fundamental than mere pleasure and enjoyment, to some form of the spirit"s delight of existence, Ananda.” *Letters on Savitri
Sri Aurobindo: "Chance is not *in this universe; the idea of illusion is itself an illusion. There was never illusion yet in the human mind that was not the concealing [?shape] and disfigurement of a truth.” Essays Divine and Human
Sri Aurobindo: "Concentration is a gathering together of the consciousness and either centralising at one point or turning on a single object, e.g., the Divine; there can also be a gathered condition throughout the whole being, not at a point. In meditation it is not indispensable to gather like this, one can simply remain with a quiet mind thinking of one subject or observing what comes in the consciousness and dealing with it.” *Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "Consciousness is a fundamental thing, the fundamental thing in existence — it is the energy, the motion, the movement of consciousness that creates the universe and all that is in it — not only the macrocosm but the microcosm is nothing but consciousness arranging itself.” *Letters on Yoga
*Sri Aurobindo: "For from the divine Bliss, the original Delight of existence, the Lord of Immortality comes pouring the wine of that Bliss, the mystic Soma, into these jars of mentalised living matter; eternal and beautiful, he enters into these sheaths of substance for the integral transformation of the being and nature.” The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "In the very atom there is a subconscious will and desire which must also be present in all atomic aggregates because they are present in the Force which constitutes the atom.” *Essays in Philosophy and Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "I suppose the golden child is the Truth-Soul which follows after the silver light of the spiritual. When it plunges into the black waters of the subconscient, it releases from it the spiritual light and the sevenfold streams of the Divine Energy and, clearing itself of the stains of the subconscient, it prepares its flight towards the supreme Divine (the Mother).” (Reply to a question in the chapter Visions and Symbols.) Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "It might be said again that, even so, in Sachchidananda itself at least, above all worlds of manifestation, there could be nothing but the self-awareness of pure existence and consciousness and a pure delight of existence. Or, indeed, this triune being itself might well be only a trinity of original spiritual self-determinations of the Infinite; these too, like all determinations, would cease to exist in the ineffable Absolute. But our position is that these must be inherent truths of the supreme being; their utmost reality must be pre-existent in the Absolute even if they are ineffably other there than what they are in the spiritual mind"s highest possible experience. The Absolute is not a mystery of infinite blankness nor a supreme sum of negations; nothing can manifest that is not justified by some self-power of the original and omnipresent Reality.” The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: ” See God everywhere and be not frightened by masks. Believe that all falsehood is truth in the making or truth in the breaking, all failure an effectuality concealed, all weakness strength hiding itself from its own vision, all pain a secret & violent ecstasy. If thou believest firmly & unweariedly, in the end thou wilt see & experience the All-true, Almighty & All-blissful.” Essays Divine and Human*
::: Sri Aurobindo: "Spiritual force has its own concreteness; it can take a form (like a stream, for instance) of which one is aware and can send it quite concretely on whatever object one chooses. This is a statement of fact about the power inherent in spiritual consciousness. But there is also such a thing as a willed use of any subtle force — it may be spiritual, mental or vital — to secure a particular result at some point in the world. Just as there are waves of unseen physical forces (cosmic waves etc.) or currents of electricity, so there are mind-waves, thought-currents, waves of emotion, — for example, anger, sorrow, etc., — which go out and affect others without their knowing whence they come or that they come at all, they only feel the result. One who has the occult or inner senses awake can feel them coming and invading him.” Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "The centres or Chakras are seven in number: ::: The thousand-petalled lotus on the top of the head.
Sri Aurobindo: "The cosmic consciousness is that of the universe, of the cosmic spirit and cosmic Nature with all the beings and forces within it. All that is as much conscious as a whole as the individual separately is, though in a different way. The consciousness of the individual is part of this, but a part feeling itself as a separate being. Yet all the time most of what he is comes into him from the cosmic consciousness. But there is a wall of separative ignorance between. Once it breaks down he becomes aware of the cosmic Self, of the consciousness of the cosmic Nature, of the forces playing in it, etc. He feels all that as he now feels physical things and impacts. He finds it all to be one with his larger or universal self.” *Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "The motion of the world works under the government of a perpetual stability. Change represents the constant shifting of apparent relations in an eternal Immutability.” The Upanishads
Sri Aurobindo: "There is no ignorance that is not part of the Cosmic Ignorance, only in the individual it becomes a limited formation and movement, while the Cosmic Ignorance is the whole movement of world consciousness separated from the supreme Truth and acting in an inferior motion in which the Truth is perverted, diminished, mixed and clouded with falsehood and error.” Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "There is no necessity in the essential nature of mind, sense, life that they should be so limited: for the physical sense-organs are not the creators of sense-perceptions, but themselves the creation, the instruments and here a necessary convenience of the cosmic sense; the nervous system and vital organs are not the creators of life"s action and reaction, but themselves the creation, the instruments and here a necessary convenience of the cosmic Life-force; the brain is not the creator of thought, but itself the creation, the instrument and here a necessary convenience of the cosmic Mind. The necessity then is not absolute, but teleological; it is the result of a divine cosmic Will in the material universe which intends to posit here a physical relation between sense and its object, establishes here a material formula and law of Conscious-Force and creates by it physical images of Conscious-Being to serve as the initial, dominating and determining fact of the world in which we live. It is not a fundamental law of being, but a constructive principle necessitated by the intention of the Spirit to evolve in a world of Matter.” The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "This truth of Karma has been always recognised in the East in one form or else in another; but to the Buddhists belongs the credit of having given to it the clearest and fullest universal enunciation and the most insistent importance. In the West too the idea has constantly recurred, but in external, in fragmentary glimpses, as the recognition of a pragmatic truth of experience, and mostly as an ordered ethical law or fatality set over against the self-will and strength of man: but it was clouded over by other ideas inconsistent with any reign of law, vague ideas of some superior caprice or of some divine jealousy, — that was a notion of the Greeks, — a blind Fate or inscrutable Necessity, Ananke, or, later, the mysterious ways of an arbitrary, though no doubt an all-wise Providence.” Essays in Philosophy and Yoga *Ananke"s.
Sri Aurobindo: "We mean by the Absolute something greater than ourselves, greater than the cosmos which we live in, the supreme reality of that transcendent Being which we call God, something without which all that we see or are conscious of as existing, could not have been, could not for a moment remain in existence. Indian thought calls it Brahman, European thought the Absolute because it is a self-existent which is absolved of all bondage to relativities . . . The Absolute is for us the Ineffable.” *The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "What the "void" feels as a clutch is felt by the Mother only as a reminding finger laid on her cheek. It is one advantage of the expression ‘as if" that it leaves the field open for such variation. It is intended to suggest without saying it that behind the sombre void is the face of a mother. The two other ‘as if"s have the same motive and I do not find them jarring upon me. The second is at a sufficient distance from the first and it is not obtrusive enough to prejudice the third which more nearly follows. . . .” Letters on Savitri
*Sri Aurobindo: "When there is some lowering or diminution of the consciousness or some impairing of it at one place or another, the Adversary — or the Censor — who is always on the watch presses with all his might wherever there is a weak point lying covered from your own view, and suddenly a wrong movement leaps up with unexpected force. Become conscious and cast out the possibility of its renewal, that is all that is to be done.” Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "Yes: the purpose is to create a large luminous trailing repetitive movement like the flight of the Bird with its dragon tail of white fire.” *Letters on Savitri
Sri Aurobindo: "Yet all the time the universal forces are pouring into him without his knowing it. He is aware only of thoughts, feelings, etc., that rise to the surface and these he takes for his own. Really they come from outside in mind waves, vital waves, waves of feeling and sensation, etc., which take particular form in him and rise to the surface after they have got inside. But they do not get into his body at once. He carries about with him an environmental consciousness (called by the Theosophists the Aura) into which they first enter. If you can become conscious of this environmental self of yours, then you can catch the thought, passion, suggestion or force of illness and prevent it from entering into you. If things in you are thrown out, they often do not go altogether but take refuge in this environmental atmosphere and from there they try to get in again. Or they go to a distance outside but linger on the outskirts or even perhaps far off, waiting till they get an opportunity to attempt entrance.” *Letters on Yoga
"Stability and movement, we must remember, are only our psychological representations of the Absolute, even as are oneness and multitude. The Absolute is beyond stability and movement as it is beyond unity and multiplicity. But it takes its eternal poise in the one and the stable and whirls round itself infinitely, inconceivably, securely in the moving and multitudinous.” The Life Divine
taking heed; giving close and thoughtful attention; carefully observant.
(Technically)** **Any of various birds of the family Paradisaeidae, native to New Guinea and adjacent islands, usually having brilliant plumage and long tail feathers in the male.
"The Avatar comes as the manifestation of the divine nature in the human nature, the apocalypse of its Christhood, Krishnahood, Buddhahood, in order that the human nature may by moulding its principle, thought, feeling, action, being on the lines of that Christhood, Krishnahood, Buddhahood transfigure itself into the divine. The law, the Dharma which the Avatar establishes is given for that purpose chiefly; the Christ, Krishna, Buddha stands in its centre as the gate, he makes through himself the way men shall follow.” Essays on the Gita
"The Avatar does not come as a thaumaturgic magician, but as the divine leader of humanity and the exemplar of a divine humanity. Even human sorrow and physical suffering he must assume and use so as to show, first, how that suffering may be a means of redemption, — as did Christ, — secondly, to show how, having been assumed by the divine soul in the human nature, it can also be overcome in the same nature, — as did Buddha. The rationalist who would have cried to Christ, ‘If thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross," or points out sagely that the Avatar was not divine because he died and died too by disease, — as a dog dieth, — knows not what he is saying: for he has missed the root of the whole matter. Even, the Avatar of sorrow and suffering must come before there can be the Avatar of divine joy; the human limitation must be assumed in order to show how it can be overcome; and the way and the extent of the overcoming, whether internal only or external also, depends upon the stage of the human advance; it must not be done by a non-human miracle.” Essays on the Gita
"The body is not only the necessary outer instrument of the physical part of action, but for the purposes of this life a base or pedestal also for all inner action.” The Synthesis of Yoga
"The call, once decisive, stands; the thing that has been born cannot eventually be stifled. Even if the force of circumstances prevents a regular pursuit or a full practical self-consecration from the first, still the mind has taken its bent and persists and returns with an ever-increasing effect upon its leading preoccupation. There is an ineluctable persistence of the inner being, and against it circumstances are in the end powerless, and no weakness in the nature can for long be an obstacle.” The Synthesis of Yoga
"The cosmic consciousness is that in which the limits of ego, personal mind and body disappear and one becomes aware of a cosmic vastness which is or filled by a cosmic spirit and aware also of the direct play of cosmic forces, universal mind forces, universal life forces, universal energies of Matter, universal overmind forces. But one does not become aware of all these together; the opening of the cosmic consciousness is usually progressive. It is not that the ego, the body, the personal mind disappear, but one feels them as only a small part of oneself. One begins to feel others too as part of oneself or varied repetitions of oneself, the same self modified by Nature in other bodies. Or, at the least, as living in the larger universal self which is henceforth one"s own greater reality. All things in fact begin to change their nature and appearance; one"s whole experience of the world is radically different from that of those who are shut up in their personal selves. One begins to know things by a different kind of experience, more direct, not depending on the external mind and the senses. It is not that the possibility of error disappears, for that cannot be so long as mind of any kind is one"s instrument for transcribing knowledge, but there is a new, vast and deep way of experiencing, seeing, knowing, contacting things; and the confines of knowledge can be rolled back to an almost unmeasurable degree. The thing one has to be on guard against in the cosmic consciousness is the play of a magnified ego, the vaster attacks of the hostile forces — for they too are part of the cosmic consciousness — and the attempt of the cosmic Illusion (Ignorance, Avidya) to prevent the growth of the soul into the cosmic Truth. These are things that one has to learn from experience; mental teaching or explanation is quite insufficient. To enter safely into the cosmic consciousness and to pass safely through it, it is necessary to have a strong central unegoistic sincerity and to have the psychic being, with its divination of truth and unfaltering orientation towards the Divine, already in front in ::: —the nature.” Letters on Yoga*
". . . the cosmic Force, masked as a material Energy, hides from our view by its insistent materiality of process the occult fact that the working of the Inconscient is really the expression of a vast universal Life, a veiled universal Mind, a hooded Gnosis, and without these origins of itself it could have no power of action, no organising coherence.” The Life Divine
"The cosmic Truth is the truth of things as they are at present expressed in the universe. The Divine Truth is independent of the universe, above it and originates it.” Letters on Yoga
"The Cosmic Will is not, to our ordinary consciousness, something that acts as an independent power doing whatever it chooses; it works through all these beings, through the forces at play in the world and the law of these forces and their results — it is only when we open ourselves and get out of the ordinary consciousness that we can feel it intervening as an independent power and overriding the ordinary play of the forces." Letters on Yoga
"The freedom of the Gita is that of the freeman, the true freedom of the birth into the higher nature, self-existent in its divinity. Whatever he does and however he lives, the free soul lives in the Divine; he is the privileged child of the mansion, bâlavat, who cannot err or fall because all he is and does is full of the Perfect, the All-blissful, the All-loving, the All-beautiful. The kingdom which he enjoys, râjyam samrddham, is a sweet and happy dominion of which it may be said, in the pregnant phrase of the Greek thinker, ``The kingdom is of the child."" Essays on the Gita
"The Infinite creates and is Brahma.” The Renaissance in India ::: "Brahman is not only the cause and supporting power and indwelling principle of the universe, he is also its material and its sole material. Matter also is Brahman and it is nothing other than or different from Brahman.” The Life Divine*
"The inner Divinity is the eternal Avatar in man; the human manifestation is its sign and development in the external world.” Essays on the Gita
::: The Mother: "Consciousness is the faculty of becoming aware of anything through identification. The Divine Consciousness is not only aware but knows and effects.” Words of the Mother, MCW Vol.15*. Consciousness.
The Mother (to a young person): "It is very simple, as you will see. 1) The Infinite is the inexhaustible storehouse of forces. The individual is a battery, a storage cell which runs down after use. Consecration is the wire that connects the individual battery to the infinite reserve of forces. Or 2) The Infinite is the river that flows without cease; the individual is the little pond that dries up slowly in the sun. Consecration is the canal that connects the river to the pond and prevents the pond from drying up.” Some Answers from the Mother, MCW *Vol. 16.
" The natural attitude of the psychic being is to feel itself as the Child, the Son of God, the Bhakta; it is a portion of the Divine, one in essence, but in the dynamics of the manifestation there is always even in identity a difference.” Letters on Yoga
::: "Then too we can see that even in the play of the forces and in spite of their distortions the Cosmic Will is working towards the eventual realisation of the Will of the Transcendent Divine.” *Letters on Yoga
::: "The perfect cosmic vision & cosmic sentiment is the cure of all error & suffering; but most men succeed only in enlarging the range of their ego.” Essays Divine and Human
These notes were written apropos of Bergson"s ‘philosophy of change", ‘you" would refer to a proponent of this philosophy.
"The spiritual change is the established descent of the peace, light, knowledge, power, bliss from above, the awareness of the Self and the Divine and of a higher cosmic consciousness and the change of the whole consciousness to that.” Letters on Yoga
the strings on an apron, used for securing it around one"s person.tie to someone"s apron strings. To make or be dependent on or dominated by someone.
"The surface mental individuality is, in consequence, always ego-centric; even its altruism is an enlargement of its ego: . . . . ” The Life Divine*
"This universal aesthesis of beauty and delight does not ignore or fail to understand the differences and oppositions, the gradations, the harmony and disharmony obvious to the ordinary consciousness; but, first of all, it draws a Rasa from them and with that comes the enjoyment, Bhoga. and the touch or the mass of the Ananda. It sees that all things have their meaning, their value, their deeper or total significance which the mind does not see, for the mind is only concerned with a surface vision, surface contacts and its own surface reactions. When something expresses perfectly what it was meant to express, the completeness brings with it a sense of harmony, a sense of artistic perfection; it gives even to what is discordant a place in a system of cosmic concordances and the discords become part of a vast harmony, and wherever there is harmony, there is a sense of beauty. ” Letters on Savitri*
those who assist, guide, wait upon, accompany, give service or follow another to contribute to the fulfilment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose; subordinate companions.
Throat centre — externalising mind.
"To me, for instance, consciousness is the very stuff of existence and I can feel it everywhere enveloping and penetrating the stone as much as man or the animal. A movement, a flow of consciousness is not to me an image but a fact. If I wrote "His anger climbed against me in a stream", it would be to the general reader a mere image, not something that was felt by me in a sensible experience; yet I would only be describing in exact terms what actually happened once, a stream of anger, a sensible and violent current of it rising up from downstairs and rushing upon me as I sat in the veranda of the Guest-House, the truth of it being confirmed afterwards by the confession of the person who had the movement. This is only one instance, but all that is spiritual or psychological in Savitri is of that character. What is to be done under these circumstances? The mystical poet can only describe what he has felt, seen in himself or others or in the world just as he has felt or seen it or experienced through exact vision, close contact or identity and leave it to the general reader to understand or not understand or misunderstand according to his capacity. A new kind of poetry demands a new mentality in the recipient as well as in the writer.” Letters on Savitri
v. **1. Focused attention, thought, etc., on (something). adj. 2. Directed or drawn toward a common center; focussed. concentrating.**
"We are not the body, but the body is still something of ourselves. With realisation the erroneous identification ceases — in certain experiences the existence of the body is not felt at all. In the full realisation the body is within us, not we in it, it is an instrumental formation in our wider being, — our consciousness exceeds but also pervades it, — it can be dissolved without our ceasing to be the self.” Letters on Yoga
without plan or intent; accidentally.
"Yet there is still the unknown underlying Oneness which compels us to strive slowly towards some form of harmony, of interdependence, of concording of discords, of a difficult unity. But it is only by the evolution in us of the concealed superconscient powers of cosmic Truth and of the Reality in which they are one that the harmony and unity we strive for can be dynamically realised in the very fibre of our being and all its self-expression and not merely in imperfect attempts, incomplete constructions, ever-changing approximations.” The Life Divine*
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NEW FULL DB (2.4M)
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*** WISDOM TROVE ***
*** NEWFULLDB 2.4M ***
1:P’raps that wall ent solid.” Lizzie and Maggie stared at one another, wide-eyed. ~ Shelley Adina, #NFDB
2:Ignore how it feels when the only real talent you have is for hiding the truth. ~ Chuck Palahniuk, #NFDB
3:la conoscenza ha inizio con la demolizione delle illusioni, la de-lusione [Ent-täuschung] ~ Erich Fromm, #NFDB
4:he just clamps his lips over mine and sticks his tongue so far into my mouth I feel like I'm being examined by the ENT gynae ~ Poppet, #NFDB
5:Inherent quality is part of absolute quality and without it things will appear shoddy. The users may not know why, but they always sense it. ~ Erik Spiekermann, #NFDB
6:None but God is loved in the exist- ent things. It is He who is manifest within every beloved to the eye of every lover – and there is nothing in the existent realm that is not a lover ~ Ibn Arabi, #NFDB
7:Education ent only books and music - it's asking questions, all the time. There are millions of us, all over the country, and no one, not one of us, is asking questions, we're all taking the easiest way out. ~ Arnold Wesker, #NFDB
8:It's time for Congress to act, restore the Voting Rights Act, and take action to prevent voter disenfranchisem ent. As your next Congresswoman, I will stand up to the extremists in the Republican Party to ensure civil rights are protected for everyone. ~ Alma Adams, #NFDB
9:You can think of individuals as different light bulbs. There will be a differences in wattage and in color. There will be differences in shape, but everywhere the current is the same. That current is who you are. You are not the individual bulb. You are the one current in all. ~ Sathya Sai Baba, #NFDB
10:Almost I'm ediately after the federal dollars began to f,ow, law enfkrce,ent agencies across the country began to compete for funding, equipmemt, and trainging. . . . Included in the bounty were "253 aircraft (including six- and seven-passenger planes, UH-80 blackhawk and UH-1 Hey helicopters, 7,856 M-16 rifles, 181 grenade launchers 8,13+ bulttetproof helmets and 1,161 pairs of night-vision gogflsz. ~ Michelle Alexander, #NFDB
11:Remembe r tha t the r e is only one impor t ant t ime and tha t is now. The pr e s ent moment is the only t ime ove r whi ch we have dominion. The mos t impor t ant pe r son is a lways the pe r son you a r e wi th, who is r ight be for e you, for who knows if you will have dealings wi th any othe r pe r son in the futur e ? The mos t impor t ant pur sui t is making the pe r son s t anding a t your side happy, for tha t a lone is the pur sui t of life. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
12:I felt the bark of the trees on either side of me as I walked. It was very soothing. Here in the LBA Woods, the trees grew very close together and when I did not walk on the path, I would reach out with my fingertips and touch their bark as I passed. The skin of the trees was warm in the sunlight, and rough, and I imagined that each tree contained a soul. Like an Ent. I knew this idea was not a true thing, but still I felt good that the trees were here. ~ Ned Hayes, #NFDB
13:European civilisation finds it easier to tolerate differ-
ent ways of life precisely on account of what its critics
usually denounce as its weakness and failure, namely
the alienation of social life. One of the things alienation
means is that distance is woven into the very social texture of everyday life. Even if I live side by side with others, in my normal state I ignore them. I am allowed not to get too close to others. I move in a social space where I interact with others obeying certain external "mechanical" rules, without sharing their inner world. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is that sometimes a dose of alienation is indispensable for peaceful coexistence. Sometimes alienation is not a problem but a solution. ~ Slavoj i ek,#NFDB
14:Inimene sünnib otsima. Ta ei sünni tervikliku olevusena. Koer sünnib terviklikuna. Puu, kivi...Peale inimese on kogu eksistentsil üks sarnane joon; kõik on terviklik. Ainult inimene on ebaterviklik: seepärast on inimesel võimalus. Roos on roos, ent inimene võib olla tuhat ja üks asja. Inimene võib olla Juudas, inimene võib olla Jeesus. kõik võimalused on avali, kõik variandid saadaval.
Nii, et need, kes võtavad oma elu kui iseenesestmõistetavana, ei saa tegelikult mõttest üldse aru. Elu on otsirännak, see on uurimine, uurimine, kuidas olla täielik, kuidas olla tervik. Selles on inimese väärikus, selles on tema ainulaadsus: ta on võimeline kasvama, sest ta ei ole tervik, ta suudab õitseda, sest ta pole täielik, ta on võimeline õppima, ta suudab pürgida. ~ Osho,#NFDB
15:Ükski väärt asi siin elus ei ole lihtne, Daniel. Noorena olin arvanud, et kui tahad oma elust mõnusasti läbi purjetada, on tarvis osata kolme asja. Esiteks: korralikult kingapaelu kinni siduda. Teiseks: naitserahvast korralikult lahti riietada. Ja kolmandaks: lugeda iga päev lõbu pärast paar lehekülge säärasid sõnu, mis on kirja pandud oskuslikult ja sisemise põlemisega. Arvasin, et mees, kellel on kindel samm, kes oskab kallistada ja mõistab kuulata sõnade muusikat, elab kauem, ja mis peamine, paremini. Ent aeg on mulle õpetanud, et sellest jääb väheks ning et vahel pakub elu meile võimaluse püüelda sihi poole, et meist saaks midagi enamat, kui kahel jalal kõndiv karvane elukas, kes üksnes sööb, roojab ja võtab sel planeedil ajutiselt ruumi... ~ Carlos Ruiz Zaf n, #NFDB
16:In addi t ion, the pr a c - t i t ione r should compl e t e the pr e l imina ry pr a c t i c e s and achieve a thorough grounding in the founda t iona l pa ths of the sut r a s , whi ch includes the deve lopment of the a l t rui s t i c int ent ion to a t t a in enl ight enment (bodhicitta), the deve lopment of c a lm abiding- the s t abi l i s a t ion of a t t ent ion on an int e rna l obj e c t of medi t a t ion- and the deve lopment of pene t r a t ive ins ight - an ana lyt i c a l medi t a t ive s t a t e tha t dissects the na tur e of its obj e c t , its r e l a t ionships , cha r a c - teristics and func t ion. The deve lopment of c a lm abiding and pene t r a t ive ins ight a r c the me ans by whi ch the pr a c t i t ione r c an cul t iva t e his or he r unde r s t anding of empt ine s s , whi ch is an appr e c i a t ion of the tot a l abs enc e of inhe r ent exi s t enc e and selfident i ty wi th r e spe c t to all phenomena ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
17:Chorus Of Youths And Virgins
Semichorus.
Oh Tyrant Love! hast thou possest
The prudent, learn'd, and virtuous breast?
Wisdom and wit in vain reclaim,
And Arts but soften us to feel thy flame.
Love, soft intruder, enters here,
But ent'ring learns to be sincere.
Marcus with blushes owns he loves,
And Brutus tenderly reproves.
Why, Virtue, dost thou blame desire,
Which Nature has imprest?
Why, Nature, dost thou soonest fire
The mild and gen'rous breast?
Chorus.
Love's purer flames the Gods approve;
The Gods and Brutus bent to love:
Brutus for absent Portia sighs,
And sterner Cassius melts at Junia's eyes.
What is loose love? a transient gust,
Spent in a sudden storm of lust,
A vapour fed from wild desire,
A wand'ring, self-consuming fire,
But Hymen's kinder flames unite;
And burn for ever one;
Chaste as cold Cynthia's virgin light,
Productive as the Sun.
Semichorus.
Oh source of ev'ry social tie,
United wish, and mutual joy!
What various joys on one attend,
As son, as father, brother husband, friend?
Whether his hoary sire he spies,
While thousand grateful thoughts arise;
Or meets his spouse's fonder eye;
Or views his smiling progeny;
What tender passions take their turns,
What home-felt raptures move?
48
His heart now melts, now leaps, now burns,
With rev'rence, hope, and love.
Chorus.
Hence guilty joys, distastes, surmises,
Hence false tears, deceits, disguises,
Dangers, doubts, delays, surprises;
Fires that scorch, yet dare not shine
Purest love's unwasting treasure,
Constant faith, fair hope, long leisure,
Days of ease, and nights of pleasure;
Sacred Hymen! these are thine.
~ Alexander Pope,#NFDB
18:noncontradicţiei este fals -, n - a r putea f i gândit sau comunicat. Or, în fapt, toată lumea gândeşte ş i comunică ceva anume , i n c l u s i v sofiştii, cei c a r e cont e s t ă pr inc ipiul noncontrad iqi e i . Altminteri, dacă nu a r comunica, omul a r fi, zice Aristotel, "aidoma unei l e gume " . Iar dacă nu ar comunica ceva determinat, omul nu ar comuni c a , în fapt, n imi c . R ealitatea comunicării unu i subiea determinat, aşadar, pr e supune acceptarea une i con sistenţe a gândirii, a unei determinări coerente a gândului gândit ş i apoi comunicat, ceea ce, la rândul său, impl i c ă pr inc ipiul noncont r adiqi e i . Pentru ca omul s ă rămână în domeniul logos-ului , al g ândului coe r ent ş i al expresiei ve rba l e ne e chi voc e , e necesar c a el să ut i l i z e z e imp l i c i t pr inc ipiul noncontra dicţiei, fie şi atunci când, explicit, el ar dori să-I conteste. Chiar da c ă - aşa cum crede de e x emplu J. Lukasiewicz - acest pr inc ipiu nu este o "lege a l o g i c i i " ş i nu arc valoare logică ca atare, el întemeiază orice l im b aj omenesc ş i înfiinţează orice responsabilitate pentru spusele rostite şi faptele comise. Iar dacă el nu este încă logic, cu siguranţă că el întemeiază logica. Or, pe de altă parte, după cum s-a spus, e pl auz ibi l ca orice consistenţă a gândirii să fie un reflex al consistenţei lumii. (Prin c ipiul noncontradicţiei nu poate funcţiona în cazul unor obiecte imaginare inconsistente, precum un triunghi dreptunghic cehi lateral.) I a r o lume consistentă este o lume unde există Fi inţ ă . Aş ada r , pr int r -un f e l de " a r gument ontologic" imp l i c it, subt i l ş i ma i p u ţ i n pretenţios decât cel " c la s i c " al l u i An s e lm din Cantcrbury, Aristotel deduce, din faptul incontestabil a l comu nicării umane, că trebuie să existe Fiinţă. Unde este Fiinţa ? Dar, chiar dacă acum ş t im că trebuie să existe Fi inţ a , încă n u ş t im unde s e află ea, sau ce anume este ea - altfel spus, cu ce porţiune din realitate s e identifică ea. Problema pare etern ă : " iată subiectul cercetat şi controversat şi în vechime, şi a cum, ş i p u r u re a : ce e s t e ceea-ce-este, adi c ă ce e s t e F i i nţa ? " - scrie Aristotel. Într-adevăr, filozofii, predecesorii săi, au identificat Fiinţa - adică porţiunea de stabilitate şi coerenţă din lume ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
19:noncontradicţiei este fals -, n - a r putea f i gândit sau comunicat. Or, în fapt, toată lumea gândeşte ş i comunică ceva anume , i n c l u s i v sofiştii, cei c a r e cont e s t ă pr inc ipiul noncontrad iqi e i . Altminteri, dacă nu a r comunica, omul a r fi, zice Aristotel, "aidoma unei l e gume " . Iar dacă nu ar comunica ceva determinat, omul nu ar comuni c a , în fapt, n imi c . R ealitatea comunicării unu i subiea determinat, aşadar, pr e supune acceptarea une i con sistenţe a gândirii, a unei determinări coerente a gândului gândit ş i apoi comunicat, ceea ce, la rândul său, impl i c ă pr inc ipiul noncont r adiqi e i . Pentru ca omul s ă rămână în domeniul logos-ului , al g ândului coe r ent ş i al expresiei ve rba l e ne e chi voc e , e necesar c a el să ut i l i z e z e imp l i c i t pr inc ipiul noncontra dicţiei, fie şi atunci când, explicit, el ar dori să-I conteste. Chiar da c ă - aşa cum crede de e x emplu J. Lukasiewicz - acest pr inc ipiu nu este o "lege a l o g i c i i " ş i nu arc valoare logică ca atare, el întemeiază orice l im b aj omenesc ş i înfiinţează orice responsabilitate pentru spusele rostite şi faptele comise. Iar dacă el nu este încă logic, cu siguranţă că el întemeiază logica. Or, pe de altă parte, după cum s-a spus, e pl auz ibi l ca orice consistenţă a gândirii să fie un reflex al consistenţei lumii. (Prin c ipiul noncontradicţiei nu poate funcţiona în cazul unor obiecte imaginare inconsistente, precum un triunghi dreptunghic cehi lateral.) I a r o lume consistentă este o lume unde există Fi inţ ă . Aş ada r , pr int r -un f e l de " a r gument ontologic" imp l i c it, subt i l ş i ma i p u ţ i n pretenţios decât cel " c la s i c " al l u i An s e lm din Cantcrbury, Aristotel deduce, din faptul incontestabil a l comu nicării umane, că trebuie să existe Fiinţă. Unde este Fiinţa ? Dar, chiar dacă acum ş t im că trebuie să existe Fi inţ a , încă n u ş t im unde s e află ea, sau ce anume este ea - altfel spus, cu ce porţiune din realitate s e identifică ea. Problema pare etern ă : " iată subiectul cercetat şi controversat şi în vechime, şi a cum, ş i p u r u re a : ce e s t e ceea-ce-este, adi c ă ce e s t e F i i nţa ? " - scrie Aristotel. Într-adevăr, filozofii, predecesorii săi, au identificat Fiinţa - adică porţiunea de stabilitate şi coerenţă din lume - ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
20:The Night Quatrains
THE Sun is set, and gone to sleep
With the fair princess of the deep,
Whose bosom is his cool retreat,
When fainting with his proper heat;
His steeds their flaming nostrils cool
In spume of the cerulean pool;
Whilst the wheels dip their hissing naves
[hubs]
Deep in Columbus's western waves.
From whence great rolls of smoke arise
To overshade the beauteous skies,
Who bid the World's bright eye adieu
In gelid tears of falling dew.
And now from the Iberian vales
Night's sable steeds her chariot hales,
Where double cypress curtains screen
The gloomy melancholic queen.
These, as they higher mount the sky,
Ravish all colour from the ey,
And leave it but an useless glass
, [mirror]
Which few or no reflections grace.
The crystal arch o'er Pinduss crown
Is on a sudden dusky grown,
And all's with fun'ral black o'erspread,
As if the Day, which sleeps, were dead.
No ray of Light the heart to cheer,
But little twinkling stars appear,
Which like faint dying embers lie,
Fit not to work nor travel by.
Perhaps to him they torches are,
Who guide Night's sov'reign's drowsy car,
And him they may befriend so near,
But us they neither light nor cheer.
Or else those little sparks of Light
Are nails that tire the wheels of Night,
Which to new stations still are brought
As they roll o'er the gloomy vault,
Or nails that arm the horse's hoof
13
Which trampling o'er the marble roof
And striking fire in the air,
We mortals call a shooting star.
That's all the Light we now receive,
Unless what belching Vulcans give,
And those yield such a kind of Light
As adds more horror to the Night.
Nyctimine now freed from Day,
From sullen bush flies out to prey,
And does with ferret note proclaim
Th'arrival of th'usurping Dame.
The rail now cracks in fields and meads,
Toads now forsake the nettle-beds,
The tim'rous hare goes to relief,
And wary men bolt out the thief.
The fire's new rak'd, and hearth swept clean
By Madge, the dirty kitchen quean*, [servant]
The safe is lock'd, the mouse-trap set,
The leaven laid, and bucking wet.
Now in false floors and roofs above,
The lustful cats make ill-tun'd love,
The ban-dog on the dunghill lies,
And watchful nurse sings lullabies.
Philomel chants it whilst she bleeds,
The bittern booms it in the reeds,
And Reynard ent'ring the back yard,
The Capitolian cry is heard.
The Goblin now the fool alarms,
Hags meet to mumble o'er their charms;
The Night Mare rides the dreaming ass,
And Fairies trip it on the grass.
The drunkard now supinely snores,
His load of ale sweats through his pores,
Yet when he wakes the swine shall find
A cropala remains behind.
The sober now and chaste are blest
With sweet, and with refreshing rest,
And to sound sleeps they've best pretence,
Have greatest share of Innocence.
We should so live then that we may
Fearless put off our clots and clay,
And travel through Death's shades to Light,
14
For every Day must have its Night.
~ Charles Cotton,#NFDB
21:Breitmann As An Uhlan. Ii. Brietmann In A Balloon.
WHO vas efer hear soosh voonders,
Holy breest or virshin nonn?
As pefelled de Coptain Breitmann,
Vhen he hoont an air-ballon.
Der Bizzy und der Dizzy,
Mit lothairingen und Lothair,
Vas nodings to dis Deutscher,
Who vent kitin troo de air.
Id was in yar Nofember,
In eighdeen sefendee,
Der Breitmann vent a prowlin,
By monden light vent he.
In fillages deserted
He hear de Uhu moan;
For you alvays hear der Uhu
Vhere der Uhu-lan ish gone.
Alone allonsed der Uhlan,
Boot nodings could he find
Safe whitey clouds a drivin
In moonshine fore de wind.
Boot ash he see dese cloudins
He bemark dat von vas round,
Und inshtead of goin oopwarts
It kep risin towards de ground.
'Oh, vot ish dis a gomin?
Some planet, py de Lord!
Too boor to life in heafen,
Coom down on eart to poard;
Und pelow it schwing tree engelsTwo he-vons mit a wench.
Boot, mein Gott! vot sort of engels
Can dose pe, dalkin Fraentsch!
'I hafe read in Eckhartshausen
Dat oop in heafen - py tam!
De engels dalk in Sherman,
39
Und sing Mardin Luther's psalm.
O nein - es sind kein engeln
Vot sail so smoofly on,
Das sind verfluchte Franzosen
In einem luft-ballon!'
Hei! how der Breitman streak it
Ven vonce he kess de trut'!
He spurred id like de wild fire
Of hope in early yout'.
Troo de weingarts like der teufel
Vhen he shase a lawyer's soul;
Down der moundain mit his lanze
Und his wafin banderol.
Down de moundain, o'er de valley,
Troo de village he ish gone;
Dog-barks die out pehind him,
Oders bark ash he come on.
Liddle heedet he deir bellin,
Liddle mind der Hahnen crow;
Liddle hear der Bauern yellin,
Clotter, clodder, on he go.
'Oh, vot ish hoontin foxen,
Und vot ish yager pliss,
Und vot ish shasin bison
On de blains, to soosh ash dis?
I hafe dinked dat roonin rebels
Vas de best of eartly fun;
Boot id isn't half so sholly
Ash to go a luft-ballon.'
Und ash id shdill vent onwart,
Shdill onwarts mit der wind,
Der coom a real madness
To catch id, o'er his mind.
Und had'st dou seen him vylin,
Dat wild onfuriate brick,
Dou'st hafe schworn dat Coptain Breitmann
Was pecome balloonatic.
40
In fain dey trow deir sand-bags,
In fain all dings let fall,
De ballon shdill kep a sinkin,
Und id vouldn't rise at all.
Yet de wild wind trife id onwarts,
Onwarts shdill der Breitmann go,
Dill he cotch id py a rope-ent
Vot vas hangin town pelow.
Boot vhen it risen oopwarts,
Ash he cling to id, of corse,
Mit de lefter hand he holtet
To de pridle of his horse.
Der horse valk on his hind-legs:
Too schwer to rise vas he;
Mein Gott! vot fix for Breitmann
Of de Uhlan cavallrie!
So he go for seferal stunden
Petween himmel und eart pelow,
Boot der teufel und die engels
Couldn't make der Hans let go.
Dill all at vonce an idee
Coom from his loocky shtarHe led co his horse's pridle
Und glimb oop indo de car.
Und vot you dinks he foundet
Vhen in dat air-ballon?
A nople Englisch vicomte,
Milord de Robinson;
Und mit him vas a laity,
Mit whom he'd rooned afay,
Whom he indroduce to Breitmann
Ash die Jungfer Salome.
Und der dritte was a barson,
Whom Milord, mit prudent view,
Hat took als secretaire,
Likevise for pallast doo.
Dey should hafe bitched him ofer
Vhen de gas was out, dey say;
41
Boot de dame vould not 'low it:She'd an arriere pensee.
Sait Milord: 'Afar we've wandered,
We are completely brown;
And I'll give a thousand shiners
If you'll take me to a town
Where no one will molest us
Till we find our way to Lon--'
Here der Breitmann ent de sentence
Ash he gry out, shortly, 'done.'
'And as for this fair lady
To whom I would be bound,'
Sait Milord, 'we'll have a wedding
Before we reach the ground.
To escape her father's anger
We fled to live in peace,
But she's relatives in London,
And they have - the police.'
O vas not dis a voonders
To make de Captain shdare?A tausend pounds in bocket
Und a veddin in de air?
He gafe avay de laity,
Und als sie wieder kam
Zur festen Erde wieder,
Ward sie Robinson Madame.
'O go mit me,' said Breitmann,
'O go in mein Quartier!
Don't mind dem gommon soldiers,
For I'm an officier.'
He guide dem troo de coontry
Till dey reach de ocean strand;
Now dey sit und pless Hans Breitmann,
In de far-off English land.
Dis ish Breitmann's last adfenture
How troo Himmel air flew he:
Und it's dime, oh nople reader!
42
For a dime to part from dee.
Dou may'st dake it all in earnest
Or pelieve id's only fon;
Boot dere's woonder dings has hoppent
Fery oft in Luft-ballon.
~ Charles Godfrey Leland,#NFDB
22:Schnitzerl’s Philosopede
I. PROLOGUE.
HERR SCHNITZERL make a ph'losopede,
Von of de pullyest kind;
It vent mitout a vheel in front,
And hadn't none pehind.
Von vheel vas in de mittel, dough,
And it vent as sure ash ecks,
For he shtraddled on de axel dree,
Mit der vheel petween his lecks.
Und vhen he vant to shtart it off
He paddlet mit his feet,
Und soon he cot to go so vast
Dat efery dings he peat.
He run her out on Broader shtreed,
He shkeeted like der vind,
Hei! how he bassed de vancy crabs,
And lef dem all pehind!
De vellers mit de trottin nags
Pooled oop to see him bass;
De Deutschers all erstaunished saidt:
'Potztausend! Was ist das?'
Boot vaster shtill der Schnitzerl flewed
On - mit a ghastly shmile;
He tidn't tooch de dirt, py shings!
Not vonce in half a mile.
Oh, vot ish all dis eart'ly pliss?
Oh, vot ish man's soocksess?
Oh, vot ish various kinds of dings?
Und vot ish hobbiness?
Ve find a pank node in de shtreedt,
Next dings der pank ish preak!
Ve folls, and knocks our outsides in,
Vhen ve a ten shtrike make.
So vas it mit der Schnitzerlein
139
On his philosopede.
His feet both shlipped outsidevard shoost
Vhen at his exdra shpeed.
He felled oopon der vheel of coorse;
De vheel like blitzen flew!
Und Schnitzerl he vos schnitz in vact,
For it shlished him grod in two.
Und as for his philosopede,
Id cot so shkared, men say,
It pounded onward till it vent
Ganz tyfelwards afay.
Boot vhere ish now der Schnitzerl's soul?
Vhere dos his shbirit pide?
In Himmel droo de endless plue,
It takes a medeor ride.
II. HANS BREITMANN AND HIS PHILOSOPEDE.
Vhen Breitmann hear dat Schnitzerl
Vas quardered into dwo,
Und how his crate philosopede
To 'm tyfel had peen flew,
He dinked und dinked so heafy,
Ash only Deutschers can,
Denn saidt, 'Who mighdt peliefet
Dish is de ent of man?'
'De human souls of beoples
Exisdt in deir idees,
Und dis of Wolfram Schnitzerl
Mighdt drafel many vays.
In his Bestimmung des Menschen
Der Fichte makes pelieve,
Dat ve brogress oon-endtly
In vhat pehindt ve leave.
'De shparrow falls ground-downvarts
Or drafels to de West;
De shparrows dat coom afder,
Bild shoost de same old nest.
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Man had not vings or fedders,
Und in oder dings, 'tis set,
He tont coom up to shparrows,
But on nests he goes ahet.
'O! vliest dou droo bornin' vorldts,
Und nebuloser foam,
By monsdrous mitnight shiant forms,
Or vhere red tyfels roam;
Or vhere de ghosdts of shky-rockets
Peyond creation flee?
Vhere e'er dou art, O Schnitzerlein,
Crate Saindt! Look down on me!
'Und deach me how you maket
Dat crate philosopede,
Vhich roon dwice six mals vaster
Ash any Arap shteed.
Und deach me how to 'stonish volk,
Und knock dem oud de shpots.
Coom pack to eart', O Schnitzerlein,
Und pring id down to dots!'
Shoost ash dish vordt vent outvarts,
Hans dinked he saw a vlash,
Und oonterwards de dable
He doompelt mit a crash.
Und to him, moong de glasses,
Und pottles ash vas proke,
Mit his het in a cigar-box,
A foice from Himmel shpoke:
'Adsum, Domine Breitmann!
Herr Copitain, here I pe!
So dell me rite honeste,
Quare inquietasti me?
Te video inter spoonibus,
Et largis glassis too,
Cerevisia repletis,
Sicut percussus tonitru!'
Denn Breitmann ansver Schnitzerl;
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'Coarctor nimis, see!
Siquidem Philistiim
Pugnant adversum me.
Ergo vocavi te,
Ash Saul vocavit SamUel, ut mi ostenderes
Quid teufel faciam?'
Denn de shpirit (in Lateinisch)
Saidt 'Bene, dat's de talk,
Non habes in hoc shanty,
A shingle et some chalk?
Non video inkum nec calamos
(I shpose some bummer shdole 'em),
Levate oculos tuos, son,
Et aspice ad linteolum!'
Denn Breitmann see de biece of chalk
Vhich riset vrom de vloor,
Und signed a fine philosopede
Alone, oopon de toor.
De von dat Schnitzerl fobricate,
Und oonderneat' he see:
Probate inter equites,
(Try dis in de cavallrie).
Der Breitmann shtood oop from de vloor,
Und leanet on a post;
Und saidt: 'If dis couldt, shouldt hafe peen,
Dar vouldt, mighdt peen a ghosdt;
Boot if id pe noumenon,
Phenomenoned indeed,
Or de soobyectif obyectified,
I'fe cot de philosopede.'
Denn out he seekt a plackschmit,
Ash vork in iron-steel,
To make him a philosopede
Mit shoost an only vheel.
De dings vas maket simple,
Ash all crate idees shouldt pe,
For 'tvas noding boot a gart-vheel,
142
Mit a dwo-feet axel dree.
De dimes der Breitmann doomple,
In learnin' for to ride,
Vas ofdener ash de sand-crains
Dat rollen in de tide.
De dimes he cot oopsettet,
In shdeerin' left und righdt,
Vas ofdener ash de cleamin' shdars,
Dat shtud de shky py night.
Boot de vorstest of de veadures
In dis von-vheel horse, you pet,
Ish dat man couldt go so nicely,
Pefore he get oopset.
Some dimes he co like plazes,
Und doorn her, extra-fine;
Und denn shlop ofer - dis is vot
Hafe kill der Schnitzerlein.
Soosh droples ash der Breitmann hafe,
To make dis 'vention go,
Vas nefer seen py mordal man,
Oopon dis vorldt pelow.
He doomplet righdt - he doomplet left,
He hafe a dousand doomps;
Dere nefer vas a gricket ball
Ash get soosh 'fernal boomps.
Boot - ash he'd shvearet he'd poot it droo,
He shvear't it moost pe tone;
Dough he schimpft' und flucht' gar laesterlich,
He visht he't ne'er pegun.
Mit 'Hagel! Blitz! Kreuz-sakrament!'
He maket de Houser ring,
Und vish der Schnitzerl vas in hell,
For deachin' him dis ding.
Nun - goot! At lasht he cot it,
Und peautifool he goed,
'Dis day,' saidt he, 'I'll 'stonish folk
A ridin' in de road.
143
Dis day, py shings! I'll do it,
Und knock dings oud of sight:'Ach weh! - for Breitmann dat day
Vas not be-markt mit vhite.
De noombers of de Deutsche volk,
Dat coomed dis sighdt to see,
I dink, in soper earnst-hood,
Mighdt not ge-reckonet pe.
For miles dey shtoodt along de road,
Mein Gott! - boot dey wer'n dry;
Dey trinket den lager-bier shops out,
Pefore der Hans coom py.
Vhen all at vonce drementous gries
De fery coondry shook,
Und beople's shkreemt, 'Da ist er! - Schau!
Here cooms der Breitmann, look!'
Mein Gott! vas efer soosh a sighdt!
Vas efer soosh a gry!
Vhen like a brick-pat in a vighdt,
Der Breitemann roosh py?
Oh mordal man! Vhy ish idt, dou
Hast passion to go vast?
Vhy ish id dat te tog und horse
Likes shbeed too quick to lasht?
De pugs, de pirds, de pumple-pees,
Und all dat ish, 'tvouldt seem
Ish nefer hobby boot, exsepdt,
Vhen pilin' on de shdeam.
Der Breitmann flew! Von mighdy gry
Ash he vent scootin' bast;
Von derriple, drementous yell;Dat day de virst - und lasht.
Vot ha! Vot ho! Vhy ish it dus?
Vhot makes dem shdare aghasht?
Vhy cooms dat vail of vild deshbair?
Ish somedings cot ge-shmasht?
Yea, efen so. Yea, ferily,
144
Shbeak, soul!-it ish dy biz!
Der Breitmann shkeet so vast along
Dey fairly heard him whizz.
Vhen shoost oopon a hill-top point
It caught a pranch ge-bent,
Und like an apple from a shling,
Afay Hans Breitmann vent.
Vent droo de air an hoondert feet
Allowin' more or lees:Denn, pob-pob-pob - a mile or dwo
He rollet along - I guess.
Say - hast dou seen a gannon ball
Half shpent, shtill poundin' on,
Like made of gummi-lasticum?So vent der Breitmann.
Dey bick him oop - dey pring him in,
No wort der Breitmann shboke.
Der doktor look - he shwear erstaunt
Dat nodings ish peen proke.
'He rollt de rocky road entlang,
He pounce o'er shtock und shtone,
You'd dink he'd knocked his outsites in,
Yet nefer preak a pone!'
All shtill Hans lay, bevilderfied;
He seemt not mind de shaps,
Nor mofed oontil der medicus
Hafe dose him vell mit schnapps.
De schmell voke oop de boetry
Of tays vhen he vas yoong,
Und he murmulte de fragmends
Of an sad romantish song:
'Ash sommer pring de roses
Und roses pring de dew,
So Deutschland gifes de maidens
Who fetch de bier for you.
Komm Maidelein! rothe Waengelein!
Mit wein-glass in your paw!
Ve'll get troonk among de roses,
145
Und pe soper on de shtraw!
'Ash vinter pring de ice-wind
Vitch plow o'er Burg und hill,
Hard times pring in de landlord,
Und de landlord pring the pill.
Boot sing Maidelein - rothe Waengelein!
Mit wein glass in your paw!
Ve'll get troonk among de roses,
Und pe soper on de shtraw!'
Dey dook der Breitmann homewarts,
Boot efer on de vay
He nefer shpeaket no man,
Und nodings else couldt say,
Boot, 'Maidelein - rothe Waengelein!
Mit wein-glass in her paw,
Ve'll get troonk among de roses,
Und pe soper on de shtraw!'
Dey laid der Hans im bette,
Peneat' de eider doun,
Und sembelet all de doktors
Who doktor in de town,Dat ish, de Deutsche Aertzte,For Breitmann alvays says,
De Deutschers ish de onlies
Mit originell idees.
Der vas Doktor Moritz Schlinkenschlag,
Dat vork ash Cafeopath,
Und de learned Cobus Schoepfskopf,
Who use de milchy bath;
Und Korschalitschky aus Boehmen,
Vhat cure mit slibovitz,
Und Wechselbalg, der Preusse,
Who only 'tend to fits.
Dere vas Strobbich aus Westfalen,
Who mofe all eart'ly ills
Mit concentrirter Schinken juice,
Und Pumpernickel pills.
146
Und a bier-kur man from Munich,
Und a grape-curist from Rhein,
Und von who shkare tiseases
Mit a dose of Schlesier-wein.
So dey meet in consooldation,
Mit Doktor Winkeleck,
Who proctice 'renovation'
Mit sauer-kraut und speck.
Und dat no man shouldt pe shlightet,
Or dreatet ash a tunce,
Dey 'greed to dry deir systems
Oopon Breitmann - all at vonce.
Dat ish, mit de exscepdion
Of gifin' Schlesier-wein:
For de remedy vas dangerfull
For von who trink from Rhein.
Ash der Teufel vonce deklaret,
Vhen he taste it on a shpree,
Dat a man, to trink soosh liquor,
Moost a porn Silesian pe.
So dey all vent los at Breitmann,
Und woonderfool to dell,
He coom to his Gesundheit,
Und pooty soon cot vell.
Some hinted at Natura,
Mit her olt vis sanatrix,
Boot eash doktor shvore he curet him,
Und de rest were taugenix.
I know not vot der Breitmann
More newly has pegun;
Boot dey say he talks day-dayly
Mit Dana of de Sun.
Dey talk in Deutsch togeder,
Und volk say de end will be,
Philosopedal shanges
In de Union Cavallrie.
Gott helf de howlin' safage!
147
Got helf de Indi-an!
Shouldt Breitmann shoin his forces
Mit Sheneral Sheridan!
Und denn, to sing his braises,
I'll write anoder lied:
Hier hat dis dale an ende,
Of Breitmann's Philosopede!
~ Charles Godfrey Leland,#NFDB
23:Prince Dorus
In days of yore, as Ancient Stories tell,
A King in love with a great Princess fell.
Long at her feet submiss the Monarch sigh'd,
While she with stern repulse his suit denied.
Yet was he form'd by birth to please the fair,
Dress'd, danc'd, and courted, with a Monarch's air;
But Magic Spells her frozen breast had steel'd
With stubborn pride, that knew not how to yield.
This to the King a courteous Fairy told,
And bade the Monarch in his suit be bold;
For he that would the charming Princess wed,
Had only on her cat's black tail to tread,
When straight the Spell would vanish into air,
And he enjoy for life the yielding fair.
He thank'd the Fairy for her kind advice.Thought he, 'If this be all, I'll not be nice;
Rather than in my courtship I will fail,
I will to mince-meat tread Minon's black tail.'
To the Princess's court repairing strait,
He sought the cat that must decide his fate;
But when he found her, how the creature stared!
How her back bristled, and her great eyes glared!
That tail, which he so fondly hop'd his prize,
Was swell'd by wrath to twice its usual size;
And all her cattish gestures plainly spoke,
She thought the affair he came upon, no joke.
With wary step the cautious King draws near,
And slyly means to attack her in her rear;
But when he thinks upon her tail to pounce,
Whisk-off she skips-three yards upon a bounceAgain he tries, again his efforts fail-
96
Minon's a witch-the deuce is in her tail.-
The anxious chase for weeks the Monarch tried,
Till courage fail'd, and hope within him died.
A desperate suit 'twas useless to prefer,
Or hope to catch a tail of quicksilver.When on a day, beyond his hopes, he found
Minon, his foe, asleep upon the ground;
Her ample tail hehind her lay outspread,
Full to the eye, and tempting to the tread.
The King with rapture the occasion bless'd,
And with quick foot the fatal part he press'd.
Loud squalls were heard, like howlings of a storm,
And sad he gazed on Minon's altered form,No more a cat, but chang'd into a man
Of giant size, who frown'd, and thus began:
'Rash King, that dared with impious design
To violate that tail, that once was mine;
What tho' the spell be broke, and burst the charms,
That kept the Princess from thy longing arms,Not unrevenged shalt thou my fury dare,
For by that violated tail I swear,
From your unhappy nuptials shall be born
A Prince, whose Nose shall be thy subjects' scorn.
Bless'd in his love thy son shall never be,
Till he his foul deformity shall see,
Till he with tears his blemish shall confess,
Discern its odious length, and wish it less!'
This said, he vanish'd; and the King awhile
Mused at his words, then answer'd with a smile,
'Give me a child in happy wedlock born,
And let his Nose be made like a French horn;
His knowledge of the fact I ne'er can doubt,If he have eyes, or hands, he'll find it out.'
So spake the King, self-flatter'd in his thought,
97
Then with impatient step the Princess sought;
His urgent suit no longer she withstands,
But links with him in Hymen's knot her hands.
Almost as soon a widow as a bride,
Within a year the King her husband died;
And shortly after he was dead and gone
She was deliver'd of a little son,
The prettiest babe, with lips as red as rose,
And eyes like little stars-but such a noseThe tender Mother fondly took the boy
Into her arms, and would have kiss'd her joy;
His luckless nose forbade the fond embraceHe thrust the hideous feature in her face.
Then all her Maids of Honour tried in turn,
And for a Prince's kiss in envy burn;
By sad experience taught, their hopes they miss'd,
And mourn'd a Prince that never could be kiss'd.
In silent tears the Queen confess'd her grief,
Till kindest Flattery came to her relief.
Her maids, as each one takes him in her arms,
Expatiate freely o'er his world of charmsHis eyes, lips, mouth-his forehead was divineAnd for the nose-they call'd it AquilineDeclared that Cæsar, who the world subdued,
Had such a one-just of that longitudeThat Kings like him compell'd folks to adore them,
And drove the short-nos'd sons of men before themThat length of nose portended length of days,
And was a great advantage many waysTo mourn the gifts of Providence was wrongBesides, the Nose was not so very long.-
These arguments in part her grief redrest,
A mother's partial fondness did the rest;
And Time, that all things reconciles by use,
Did in her notions such a change produce,
That, as she views her babe, with favour blind,
98
She thinks him handsomest of human kind.
Meantime, in spite of his disfigured face,
Dorus (for so he's call'd) grew up a pace;
In fair proportion all his features rose,
Save that most prominent of all-his Nose.
That Nose, which in the infant could annoy,
Was grown a perfect nuisance in the boy.
Whene'er he walk'd, his Handle went before,
Long as the snout of Ferret, or Wild Boar;
Or like the Staff, with which on holy day
The solemn Parish Beadle clears the way.
But from their cradle to their latest year,
How seldom Truth can reach a Prince's ear!
To keep the unwelcome knowledge out of view,
His lesson well each flattering Courtier knew;
The hoary Tutor, and the wily Page,
Unmeet confederates! dupe his tender age.
They taught him that whate'er vain mortals boastStrength, Courage, Wisdom-all they value mostWhate'er on human life distinction throwsWas all comprized-in what?-a length of nose!
Ev'n Virtue's self (by some suppos'd chief merit)
In short-nosed folks was only want of spirit.
While doctrines such as these his guides instill'd,
His Palace was with long-nosed people fill'd;
At Court whoever ventured to appear
With a short nose, was treated with a sneer.
Each courtier's wife, that with a babe is blest,
Moulds its young nose betimes; and does her best,
By pulls, and hauls, and twists, and lugs, and pinches,
To stretch it to the standard of the Prince's.
Dup'd by these arts, Dorus to manhood rose,
Nor dream'd of ought more comely than his Nose;
Till Love, whose power ev'n Princes have confest,
99
Claim'd the soft empire o'er his youthful breast.
Fair Claribel was she who caus'd his care;
A neighb'ring Monarch's daughter, and sole heir.
For beauteous Claribel his bosom burn'd;
The beauteous Claribel his flame return'd;
Deign'd with kind words his passion to approve,
Met his soft vows, and yielded love for love.
If in her mind some female pangs arose
At sight (and who can blame her?) of his Nose,
Affection made her willing to be blind;
She loved him for the beauties of his mind;
And in his lustre, and his royal race,
Contented sunk-one feature of his face.
Blooming to sight, and lovely to behold,
Herself was cast in Beauty's richest mould;
Sweet female majesty her person deck'dHer face an angel's-save for one defectWise Nature, who to Dorus over kind,
A length of nose too liberal had assign'd,
As if with us poor mortals to make sport,
Had given to Claribel a nose too short:
But turn'd up with a sort of modest grace;
It took not much of beauty from her face;
And subtle Courtiers, who their Prince's mind
Still watch'd, and turn'd about with every wind,
Assur'd the Prince, that though man's beauty owes
Its charms to a majestic length of nose,
The excellence of Woman (softer creature)
Consisted in the shortness of that feature.
Few arguments were wanted to convince
The already more than half persuaded Prince;
Truths, which we hate, with slowness we receive,
But what we wish to credit, soon believe.
The Princess's affections being gain'd,
What but her Sire's approval now remain'd?
Ambassadors with solemn pomp are sent
To win the aged Monarch to consent
(Seeing their States already were allied)
100
That Dorus might have Claribel to bride.
Her Royal Sire, who wisely understood
The match propos'd was for both kingdoms' good,
Gave his consent; and gentle Claribel
With weeping bids her father's court farewell.
With gallant pomp, and numerous array,
Dorus went forth to meet her on her way;
But when the Princely pair of lovers met,
Their hearts on mutual gratulations set,
Sudden the Enchanter from the ground arose,
(The same who prophesied the Prince's nose)
And with rude grasp, unconscious of her charms,
Snatch'd up the lovely Princess in his arms,
Then bore her out of reach of human eyes,
Up in the pathless regions of the skies.
Bereft of her that was his only care,
Dorus resign'd his soul to wild despair;
Resolv'd to leave the land that gave him birth,
And seek fair Claribel throughout the earth.
Mounting his horse, he gives the beast the reins,
And wanders lonely through the desert plains;
With fearless heart the savage heath explores,
Where the wolf prowls, and where the tiger roars,
Nor wolf, nor tiger, dare his way oppose;
The wildest creatures see, and shun, his Nose.
Ev'n lions fear! the elephant alone
Surveys with pride a trunk so like his own.
At length he to a shady forest came,
Where in a cavern lived an aged dame;
A reverend Fairy, on whose silver head
A hundred years their downy snows had shed.
Here ent'ring in, the Mistress of the place
Bespoke him welcome with a cheerful grace;
Fetch'd forth her dainties, spread her social board
With all the store her dwelling could afford.
The Prince, with toil and hunger sore opprest,
101
Gladly accepts, and deigns to be her guest.
But when the first civilities were paid,
The dishes rang'd, and Grace in order said;
The Fairy, who had leisure now to view
Her guest more closely, from her pocket drew
Her spectacles, and wip'd them from the dust,
Then on her nose endeavour'd to adjust;
With difficulty she could find a place
To hang them on in her unshapely face;
For, if the Princess's was somewhat small,
This Fairy scarce had any nose at all.
But when by help of spectacles the Crone
Discern'd a Nose so different from her own,
What peals of laughter shook her aged sides!
While with sharp jests the Prince she thus derides.
FAIRY.
'Welcome, great Prince of Noses, to my cell;
'Tis a poor place,-but thus we Fairies dwell.
Pray, let me ask you, if from far you comeAnd don't you sometimes find it cumbersome?'
PRINCE.
'Find what?'
FAIRY.
'Your Nose-'
PRINCE.
'My Nose, Ma'am!'
FAIRY.
'No offenceThe King your Father was a man of sense,
A handsome man (but lived not to be old)
And had a Nose cast in the common mould.
Ev'n I myself, that now with age am grey,
102
Was thought to have some beauty in my day,
And am the Daughter of a King.-Your Sire
In this poor face saw something to admireAnd I to shew my gratitude made shiftHave stood his friend-and help'd him at a lift'Twas I that, when his hopes began to fail,
Shew'd him the spell that lurk'd in Minon's tailPerhaps you have heard-but come, Sir, you don't eatThat Nose of yours requires both wine and meatFall to, and welcome, without more adoYou see your fare-what shall I help you to?
This dish the tongues of nightingales contains;
This, eyes of peacocks; and that, linnets' brains;
That next you is a Bird of ParadiseWe Fairies in our food are somewhat nice.And pray, Sir, while your hunger is supplied,
Do lean your Nose a little on one side;
The shadow, which it casts upon the meat,
Darkens my plate, I see not what I eat-'
The Prince, on dainty after dainty feeding,
Felt inly shock'd at the old Fairy's breeding,
But held it want of manners in the Dame,
And did her country education blame.
One thing he only wonder'd at,-what she
So very comic in his Nose could see.
Hers, it must be confest, was somewhat short,
And time and shrinking age accounted for't;
But for his own, thank heaven, he could not tell
That it was ever thought remarkable;
A decent nose, of reasonable size,
And handsome thought, rather than otherwise.
But that which most of all his wonder paid,
Was to observe the Fairy's waiting Maid;
How at each word the aged Dame let fall;
She curtsied low, and smil'd assent to all;
But chiefly when the rev'rend Grannam told
Of conquests, which her beauty made of old.He smiled to see how Flattery sway'd the Dame,
Nor knew himself was open to the same!
He finds her raillery now increase so fast,
103
That making hasty end of his repast,
Glad to escape her tongue, he bids farewell
To the old Fairy, and her friendly cell.
But his kind Hostess, who had vainly tried
The force of ridicule to cure his pride,
Fertile in plans, a surer method chose,
To make him see the error of his Nose;
For, till he view'd that feature with remorse,
The Enchanter's direful spell must be in force.
Midway the road by which the Prince must pass,
She rais'd by magic art a House of Glass;
No mason's hand appear'd, nor work of wood;
Compact of glass the wondrous fabric stood.
Its stately pillars, glittering in the sun,
Conspicuous from afar, like silver, shone.
Here, snatch'd and rescued from th' Enchanter's might,
She placed the beauteous Claribel in sight.
The admiring Prince the chrystal dome survey'd,
And sought access unto his lovely Maid:
But, strange to tell, in all that mansion's bound,
Nor door, nor casement, was there to be found.
Enrag'd he took up massy stones, and flung
With such a force, that all the palace rung;
But made no more impression on the glass,
Than if the solid structure had been brass.
To comfort his despair, the lovely maid
Her snowy hand against her window laid;
But when with eager haste he thought to kiss,
His Nose stood out, and robb'd him of the bliss.
Thrice he essay'd th' impracticable feat;
The window and his lips can never meet.
The painful Truth, which Flattery long conceal'd,
Rush'd on his mind, and 'O!' he cried, 'I yield;
Wisest of Fairies, thou wert right, I wrong-
104
I own, I own, I have a Nose too long.'
The frank confession was no sooner spoke,
But into shivers all the palace broke.
His Nose of monstrous length, to his surprise
Shrunk to the limits of a common size:
And Claribel with joy her Lover view'd,
Now grown as beautiful as he was good.
The aged Fairy in their presence stands,
Confirms their mutual vows, and joins their hands.
The Prince with rapture hails the happy hour,
That rescued him from self-delusion's power;
And trains of blessings crown the future life
Of Dorus, and of Claribel, his wife.
THE END
~ Charles Lamb,#NFDB
24:BOOK THE ELEVENTH
The Death of Orpheus
Here, while the Thracian bard's enchanting strain
Sooths beasts, and woods, and all the listn'ing plain,
The female Bacchanals, devoutly mad,
In shaggy skins, like savage creatures, clad,
Warbling in air perceiv'd his lovely lay,
And from a rising ground beheld him play.
When one, the wildest, with dishevel'd hair,
That loosely stream'd, and ruffled in the air;
Soon as her frantick eye the lyrist spy'd,
See, see! the hater of our sex, she cry'd.
Then at his face her missive javelin sent,
Which whiz'd along, and brusht him as it went;
But the soft wreathes of ivy twisted round,
Prevent a deep impression of the wound.
Another, for a weapon, hurls a stone,
Which, by the sound subdu'd as soon as thrown,
Falls at his feet, and with a seeming sense
Implores his pardon for its late offence.
But now their frantick rage unbounded grows,
Turns all to madness, and no measure knows:
Yet this the charms of musick might subdue,
But that, with all its charms, is conquer'd too;
In louder strains their hideous yellings rise,
And squeaking horn-pipes eccho thro' the skies,
Which, in hoarse consort with the drum, confound
The moving lyre, and ev'ry gentle sound:
Then 'twas the deafen'd stones flew on with speed,
And saw, unsooth'd, their tuneful poet bleed.
The birds, the beasts, and all the savage crew
Which the sweet lyrist to attention drew,
Now, by the female mob's more furious rage,
Are driv'n, and forc'd to quit the shady stage.
Next their fierce hands the bard himself assail,
Nor can his song against their wrath prevail:
They flock, like birds, when in a clustring flight,
By day they chase the boding fowl of night.
So crowded amphitheatres survey
The stag, to greedy dogs a future prey.
Their steely javelins, which soft curls entwine
Of budding tendrils from the leafy vine,
For sacred rites of mild religion made,
Are flung promiscuous at the poet's head.
Those clods of earth or flints discharge, and these
Hurl prickly branches sliver'd from the trees.
And, lest their passion shou'd be unsupply'd,
The rabble crew, by chance, at distance spy'd
Where oxen, straining at the heavy yoke,
The fallow'd field with slow advances broke;
Nigh which the brawny peasants dug the soil,
Procuring food with long laborious toil.
These, when they saw the ranting throng draw near,
Quitted their tools, and fled, possest with fear.
Long spades, and rakes of mighty size were found,
Carelesly left upon the broken ground.
With these the furious lunaticks engage,
And first the lab'ring oxen feel their rage;
Then to the poet they return with speed,
Whose fate was, past prevention, now decreed:
In vain he lifts his suppliant hands, in vain
He tries, before, his never-failing strain.
And, from those sacred lips, whose thrilling sound
Fierce tygers, and insensate rocks cou'd wound,
Ah Gods! how moving was the mournful sight!
To see the fleeting soul now take its flight.
Thee the soft warblers of the feather'd kind
Bewail'd; for thee thy savage audience pin'd;
Those rocks and woods that oft thy strain had led,
Mourn for their charmer, and lament him dead;
And drooping trees their leafy glories shed.
Naids and Dryads with dishevel'd hair
Promiscuous weep, and scarfs of sable wear;
Nor cou'd the river-Gods conceal their moan,
But with new floods of tears augment their own.
His mangled limbs lay scatter'd all around,
His head, and harp a better fortune found;
In Hebrus' streams they gently roul'd along,
And sooth'd the waters with a mournful song.
Soft deadly notes the lifeless tongue inspire,
A doleful tune sounds from the floating lyre;
The hollows banks in solemn consort mourn,
And the sad strain in ecchoing groans return.
Now with the current to the sea they glide,
Born by the billows of the briny tide;
And driv'n where waves round rocky Lesbos roar,
They strand, and lodge upon Methymna's shore.
But here, when landed on the foreign soil,
A venom'd snake, the product of the isle
Attempts the head, and sacred locks embru'd
With clotted gore, and still fresh-dropping blood.
Phoebus, at last, his kind protection gives,
And from the fact the greedy monster drives:
Whose marbled jaws his impious crime atone,
Still grinning ghastly, tho' transform'd to stone.
His ghost flies downward to the Stygian shore,
And knows the places it had seen before:
Among the shadows of the pious train
He finds Eurydice, and loves again;
With pleasure views the beauteous phantom's charms,
And clasps her in his unsubstantial arms.
There side by side they unmolested walk,
Or pass their blissful hours in pleasing talk;
Aft or before the bard securely goes,
And, without danger, can review his spouse.
The Thracian Women transform'd to Trees
Bacchus, resolving to revenge the wrong,
Of Orpheus murder'd, on the madding throng,
Decreed that each accomplice dame should stand
Fix'd by the roots along the conscious land.
Their wicked feet, that late so nimbly ran
To wreak their malice on the guiltless man,
Sudden with twisted ligatures were bound,
Like trees, deep planted in the turfy ground.
And, as the fowler with his subtle gins,
His feather'd captives by the feet entwines,
That flutt'ring pant, and struggle to get loose,
Yet only closer draw the fatal noose;
So these were caught; and, as they strove in vain
To quit the place, they but encreas'd their pain.
They flounce and toil, yet find themselves controul'd;
The root, tho' pliant, toughly keeps its hold.
In vain their toes and feet they look to find,
For ev'n their shapely legs are cloath'd with rind.
One smites her thighs with a lamenting stroke,
And finds the flesh transform'd to solid oak;
Another, with surprize, and grief distrest,
Lays on above, but beats a wooden breast.
A rugged bark their softer neck invades,
Their branching arms shoot up delightful shades;
At once they seem, and are, a real grove,
With mossy trunks below, and verdant leaves above.
The Fable of Midas
Nor this suffic'd; the God's disgust remains,
And he resolves to quit their hated plains;
The vineyards of Tymole ingross his care,
And, with a better choir, he fixes there;
Where the smooth streams of clear Pactolus roll'd,
Then undistinguish'd for its sands of gold.
The satyrs with the nymphs, his usual throng,
Come to salute their God, and jovial danc'd along.
Silenus only miss'd; for while he reel'd,
Feeble with age, and wine, about the field,
The hoary drunkard had forgot his way,
And to the Phrygian clowns became a prey;
Who to king Midas drag the captive God,
While on his totty pate the wreaths of ivy nod.
Midas from Orpheus had been taught his lore,
And knew the rites of Bacchus long before.
He, when he saw his venerable guest,
In honour of the God ordain'd a feast.
Ten days in course, with each continu'd night,
Were spent in genial mirth, and brisk delight:
Then on th' eleventh, when with brighter ray
Phosphor had chac'd the fading stars away,
The king thro' Lydia's fields young Bacchus sought,
And to the God his foster-father brought.
Pleas'd with the welcome sight, he bids him soon
But name his wish, and swears to grant the boon.
A glorious offer! yet but ill bestow'd
On him whose choice so little judgment show'd.
Give me, says he (nor thought he ask'd too much),
That with my body whatsoe'er I touch,
Chang'd from the nature which it held of old,
May be converted into yellow gold.
He had his wish; but yet the God repin'd,
To think the fool no better wish could find.
But the brave king departed from the place,
With smiles of gladness sparkling in his face:
Nor could contain, but, as he took his way,
Impatient longs to make the first essay.
Down from a lowly branch a twig he drew,
The twig strait glitter'd with a golden hue:
He takes a stone, the stone was turn'd to gold;
A clod he touches, and the crumbling mold
Acknowledg'd soon the great transforming pow'r,
In weight and substance like a mass of ore.
He pluck'd the corn, and strait his grasp appears
Fill'd with a bending tuft of golden ears.
An apple next he takes, and seems to hold
The bright Hesperian vegetable gold.
His hand he careless on a pillar lays.
With shining gold the fluted pillars blaze:
And while he washes, as the servants pour,
His touch converts the stream to Danae's show'r.
To see these miracles so finely wrought,
Fires with transporting joy his giddy thought.
The ready slaves prepare a sumptuous board,
Spread with rich dainties for their happy lord;
Whose pow'rful hands the bread no sooner hold,
But its whole substance is transform'd to gold:
Up to his mouth he lifts the sav'ry meat,
Which turns to gold as he attempts to eat:
His patron's noble juice of purple hue,
Touch'd by his lips, a gilded cordial grew;
Unfit for drink, and wondrous to behold,
It trickles from his jaws a fluid gold.
The rich poor fool, confounded with surprize,
Starving in all his various plenty lies:
Sick of his wish, he now detests the pow'r,
For which he ask'd so earnestly before;
Amidst his gold with pinching famine curst;
And justly tortur'd with an equal thirst.
At last his shining arms to Heav'n he rears,
And in distress, for refuge, flies to pray'rs.
O father Bacchus, I have sinn'd, he cry'd,
And foolishly thy gracious gift apply'd;
Thy pity now, repenting, I implore;
Oh! may I feel the golden plague no more.
The hungry wretch, his folly thus confest,
Touch'd the kind deity's good-natur'd breast;
The gentle God annull'd his first decree,
And from the cruel compact set him free.
But then, to cleanse him quite from further harm,
And to dilute the relicks of the charm,
He bids him seek the stream that cuts the land
Nigh where the tow'rs of Lydian Sardis stand;
Then trace the river to the fountain head,
And meet it rising from its rocky bed;
There, as the bubling tide pours forth amain,
To plunge his body in, and wash away the stain.
The king instructed to the fount retires,
But with the golden charm the stream inspires:
For while this quality the man forsakes,
An equal pow'r the limpid water takes;
Informs with veins of gold the neighb'ring land,
And glides along a bed of golden sand.
Now loathing wealth, th' occasion of his woes,
Far in the woods he sought a calm repose;
In caves and grottos, where the nymphs resort,
And keep with mountain Pan their sylvan court.
Ah! had he left his stupid soul behind!
But his condition alter'd not his mind.
For where high Tmolus rears his shady brow,
And from his cliffs surveys the seas below,
In his descent, by Sardis bounded here,
By the small confines of Hypaepa there,
Pan to the nymphs his frolick ditties play'd,
Tuning his reeds beneath the chequer'd shade.
The nymphs are pleas'd, the boasting sylvan plays,
And speaks with slight of great Apollo's lays.
Tmolus was arbiter; the boaster still
Accepts the tryal with unequal skill.
The venerable judge was seated high
On his own hill, that seem'd to touch the sky.
Above the whisp'ring trees his head he rears,
From their encumbring boughs to free his ears;
A wreath of oak alone his temples bound,
The pendant acorns loosely dangled round.
In me your judge, says he, there's no delay:
Then bids the goatherd God begin, and play.
Pan tun'd the pipe, and with his rural song
Pleas'd the low taste of all the vulgar throng;
Such songs a vulgar judgment mostly please,
Midas was there, and Midas judg'd with these.
The mountain sire with grave deportment now
To Phoebus turns his venerable brow:
And, as he turns, with him the listning wood
In the same posture of attention stood.
The God his own Parnassian laurel crown'd,
And in a wreath his golden tresses bound,
Graceful his purple mantle swept the ground.
High on the left his iv'ry lute he rais'd,
The lute, emboss'd with glitt'ring jewels, blaz'd
In his right hand he nicely held the quill,
His easy posture spoke a master's skill.
The strings he touch'd with more than human art,
Which pleas'd the judge's ear, and sooth'd his heart;
Who soon judiciously the palm decreed,
And to the lute postpon'd the squeaking reed.
All, with applause, the rightful sentence heard,
Midas alone dissatisfy'd appear'd;
To him unjustly giv'n the judgment seems,
For Pan's barbarick notes he most esteems.
The lyrick God, who thought his untun'd ear
Deserv'd but ill a human form to wear,
Of that deprives him, and supplies the place
With some more fit, and of an ampler space:
Fix'd on his noddle an unseemly pair,
Flagging, and large, and full of whitish hair;
Without a total change from what he was,
Still in the man preserves the simple ass.
He, to conceal the scandal of the deed,
A purple turbant folds about his head;
Veils the reproach from publick view, and fears
The laughing world would spy his monstrous ears.
One trusty barber-slave, that us'd to dress
His master's hair, when leng then'd to excess,
The mighty secret knew, but knew alone,
And, tho' impatient, durst not make it known.
Restless, at last, a private place he found,
Then dug a hole, and told it to the ground;
In a low whisper he reveal'd the case,
And cover'd in the earth, and silent left the place.
In time, of trembling reeds a plenteous crop
From the confided furrow sprouted up;
Which, high advancing with the ripening year,
Made known the tiller, and his fruitless care:
For then the rustling blades, and whisp'ring wind,
To tell th' important secret, both combin'd.
The Building of Troy
Phoebus, with full revenge, from Tmolus flies,
Darts thro' the air, and cleaves the liquid skies;
Near Hellespont he lights, and treads the plains
Where great Laomedon sole monarch reigns;
Where, built between the two projecting strands,
To Panomphaean Jove an altar stands.
Here first aspiring thoughts the king employ,
To found the lofty tow'rs of future Troy.
The work, from schemes magnificent begun,
At vast expence was slowly carry'd on:
Which Phoebus seeing, with the trident God
Who rules the swelling surges with his nod,
Assuming each a mortal shape, combine
At a set price to finish his design.
The work was built; the king their price denies,
And his injustice backs with perjuries.
This Neptune cou'd not brook, but drove the main,
A mighty deluge, o'er the Phrygian plain:
'Twas all a sea; the waters of the deep
From ev'ry vale the copious harvest sweep;
The briny billows overflow the soil,
Ravage the fields, and mock the plowman's toil.
Nor this appeas'd the God's revengeful mind,
For still a greater plague remains behind;
A huge sea-monster lodges on the sands,
And the king's daughter for his prey demands.
To him that sav'd the damsel, was decreed
A set of horses of the Sun's fine breed:
But when Alcides from the rock unty'd
The trembling fair, the ransom was deny'd.
He, in revenge, the new-built walls attack'd,
And the twice-perjur'd city bravely sack'd.
Telamon aided, and in justice shar'd
Part of the plunder as his due reward:
The princess, rescu'd late, with all her charms,
Hesione, was yielded to his arms;
For Peleus, with a Goddess-bride, was more
Proud of his spouse, than of his birth before:
Grandsons to Jove there might be more than one,
But he the Goddess had enjoy'd alone.
The Story of Thetis and Peleus
For Proteus thus to virgin Thetis said,
Fair Goddess of the waves, consent to wed,
And take some spritely lover to your bed.
A son you'll have, the terror of the field,
To whom in fame, and pow'r his sire shall yield.
Jove, who ador'd the nymph with boundless love,
Did from his breast the dangerous flame remove.
He knew the Fates, nor car'd to raise up one,
Whose fame and greatness should eclipse his own,
On happy Peleus he bestow'd her charms,
And bless'd his grandson in the Goddess' arms:
A silent creek Thessalia's coast can show;
Two arms project, and shape it like a bow;
'Twould make a bay, but the transparent tide
Does scarce the yellow-gravell'd bottom hide;
For the quick eye may thro' the liquid wave
A firm unweedy level beach perceive.
A grove of fragrant myrtle near it grows,
Whose boughs, tho' thick, a beauteous grot disclose;
The well-wrought fabrick, to discerning eyes,
Rather by art than Nature seems to rise.
A bridled dolphin oft fair Thetis bore
To this her lov'd retreat, her fav'rite shore.
Here Peleus seiz'd her, slumbring while she lay,
And urg'd his suit with all that love could say:
But when he found her obstinately coy,
Resolv'd to force her, and comm and the joy;
The nymph, o'erpowr'd, to art for succour flies
And various shapes the eager youth surprize:
A bird she seems, but plies her wings in vain,
His hands the fleeting substance still detain:
A branchy tree high in the air she grew;
About its bark his nimble arms he threw:
A tyger next she glares with flaming eyes;
The frighten'd lover quits his hold, and flies:
The sea-Gods he with sacred rites adores,
Then a libation on the ocean pours;
While the fat entrails crackle in the fire,
And sheets of smoak in sweet perfume aspire;
'Till Proteus rising from his oozy bed,
Thus to the poor desponding lover said:
No more in anxious thoughts your mind employ,
For yet you shall possess the dear expected joy.
You must once more th' unwary nymph surprize,
As in her cooly grot she slumbring lies;
Then bind her fast with unrelenting hands,
And strain her tender limbs with knotted bands.
Still hold her under ev'ry different shape,
'Till tir'd she tries no longer to escape.
Thus he: then sunk beneath the glassy flood,
And broken accents flutter'd, where he stood.
Bright Sol had almost now his journey done,
And down the steepy western convex run;
When the fair Nereid left the briny wave,
And, as she us'd, retreated to her cave.
He scarce had bound her fast, when she arose,
And into various shapes her body throws:
She went to move her arms, and found 'em ty'd;
Then with a sigh, Some God assists ye, cry'd,
And in her proper shape stood blushing by his side.
About her waiste his longing arms he flung,
From which embrace the great Achilles sprung.
The Transformation of Daedalion
Peleus unmix'd felicity enjoy'd
(Blest in a valiant son, and virtuous bride),
'Till Fortune did in blood his hands imbrue,
And his own brother by curst chance he slew:
Then driv'n from Thessaly, his native clime,
Trachinia first gave shelter to his crime;
Where peaceful Ceyx mildly fill'd the throne,
And like his sire, the morning planet, shone;
But now, unlike himself, bedew'd with tears,
Mourning a brother lost, his brow appears.
First to the town with travel spent, and care,
Peleus, and his small company repair:
His herds, and flocks the while at leisure feed,
On the rich pasture of a neighb'ring mead.
The prince before the royal presence brought,
Shew'd by the suppliant olive what he sought;
Then tells his name, and race, and country right,
But hides th' unhappy reason of his flight.
He begs the king some little town to give,
Where they may safe his faithful vassals live.
Ceyx reply'd: To all my bounty flows,
A hospitable realm your suit has chose.
Your glorious race, and far-resounding fame,
And grandsire Jove, peculiar favours claim.
All you can wish, I grant; entreaties spare;
My kingdom (would 'twere worth the sharing) share.
Tears stop'd his speech: astonish'd Peleus pleads
To know the cause from whence his grief proceeds.
The prince reply'd: There's none of ye but deems
This hawk was ever such as now it seems;
Know 'twas a heroe once, Daedalion nam'd,
For warlike deeds, and haughty valour fam'd;
Like me to that bright luminary born,
Who wakes Aurora, and brings on the morn.
His fierceness still remains, and love of blood,
Now dread of birds, and tyrant of the wood.
My make was softer, peace my greatest care;
But this my brother wholly bent on war;
Late nations fear'd, and routed armies fled
That force, which now the tim'rous pigeons dread.
A daughter he possess'd, divinely fair,
And scarcely yet had seen her fifteenth year;
Young Chione: a thousand rivals strove
To win the maid, and teach her how to love.
Phoebus, and Mercury by chance one day
From Delphi, and Cyllene past this way;
Together they the virgin saw: desire
At once warm'd both their breasts with am'rous fire.
Phoebus resolv'd to wait 'till close of day;
But Mercury's hot love brook'd no delay;
With his entrancing rod the maid he charms,
And unresisted revels in her arms.
'Twas night, and Phoebus in a beldam's dress,
To the late rifled beauty got access.
Her time compleat nine circling moons had run;
To either God she bore a lovely son:
To Mercury Autolycus she brought,
Who turn'd to thefts and tricks his subtle thought;
Possess'd he was of all his father's slight,
At will made white look black, and black look white.
Philammon born to Phoebus, like his sire,
The Muses lov'd, and finely struck the lyre,
And made his voice, and touch in harmony conspire.
In vain, fond maid, you boast this double birth,
The love of Gods, and royal father's worth,
And Jove among your ancestors rehearse!
Could blessings such as these e'er prove a curse?
To her they did, who with audacious pride,
Vain of her own, Diana's charms decry'd.
Her taunts the Goddess with resentment fill;
My face you like not, you shall try my skill.
She said; and strait her vengeful bow she strung,
And sent a shaft that pierc'd her guilty tongue:
The bleeding tongue in vain its accents tries;
In the red stream her soul reluctant flies.
With sorrow wild I ran to her relief,
And try'd to moderate my brother's grief.
He, deaf as rocks by stormy surges beat,
Loudly laments, and hears me not intreat.
When on the fun'ral pile he saw her laid,
Thrice he to rush into the flames assay'd,
Thrice with officious care by us was stay'd.
Now, mad with grief, away he fled amain,
Like a stung heifer that resents the pain,
And bellowing wildly bounds along the plain.
O'er the most rugged ways so fast he ran,
He seem'd a bird already, not a man:
He left us breathless all behind; and now
In quest of death had gain'd Parnassus' brow:
But when from thence headlong himself he threw,
He fell not, but with airy pinions flew.
Phoebus in pity chang'd him to a fowl,
Whose crooked beak and claws the birds controul,
Little of bulk, but of a warlike soul.
A hawk become, the feather'd race's foe,
He tries to case his own by other's woe.
A Wolf turn'd into Marble
While they astonish'd heard the king relate
These wonders of his hapless brother's fate;
The prince's herdsman at the court arrives,
And fresh surprize to all the audience gives.
O Peleus, Peleus! dreadful news I bear,
He said; and trembled as he spoke for fear.
The worst, affrighted Peleus bid him tell,
Whilst Ceyx too grew pale with friendly zeal.
Thus he began: When Sol mid-heav'n had gain'd,
And half his way was past, and half remain'd,
I to the level shore my cattle drove,
And let them freely in the meadows rove.
Some stretch'd at length admire the watry plain,
Some crop'd the herb, some wanton swam the main.
A temple stands of antique make hard by,
Where no gilt domes, nor marble lure the eye;
Unpolish'd rafters bear its lowly height,
Hid by a grove, as ancient, from the sight.
Here Nereus, and the Nereids they adore;
I learnt it from the man who thither bore
His net, to dry it on the sunny shore.
Adjoyns a lake, inclos'd with willows round,
Where swelling waves have overflow'd the mound,
And, muddy, stagnate on the lower ground.
From thence a russling noise increasing flies,
Strikes the still shore; and frights us with surprize,
Strait a huge wolf rush'd from the marshy wood,
His jaws besmear'd with mingled foam, and blood,
Tho' equally by hunger urg'd, and rage,
His appetite he minds not to asswage;
Nought that he meets, his rabid fury spares,
But the whole herd with mad disorder tears.
Some of our men who strove to drive him thence,
Torn by his teeth, have dy'd in their defence.
The echoing lakes, the sea, and fields, and shore,
Impurpled blush with streams of reeking gore.
Delay is loss, nor have we time for thought;
While yet some few remain alive, we ought
To seize our arms, and with confederate force
Try if we so can stop his bloody course.
But Peleus car'd not for his ruin'd herd;
His crime he call'd to mind, and thence inferr'd,
That Psamathe's revenge this havock made,
In sacrifice to murder'd Phocus' shade.
The king commands his servants to their arms;
Resolv'd to go; but the loud noise alarms
His lovely queen, who from her chamber flew,
And her half-plaited hair behind her threw:
About his neck she hung with loving fears,
And now with words, and now with pleading tears,
Intreated that he'd send his men alone,
And stay himself, to save two lives in one.
Then Peleus: Your just fears, o queen, forget;
Too much the offer leaves me in your debt.
No arms against the monster I shall bear,
But the sea nymphs appease with humble pray'r.
The citadel's high turrets pierce the sky,
Which home-bound vessels, glad, from far descry;
This they ascend, and thence with sorrow ken
The mangled heifers lye, and bleeding men;
Th' inexorable ravager they view,
With blood discolour'd, still the rest pursue:
There Peleus pray'd submissive tow'rds the sea,
And deprecates the ire of injur'd Psamathe.
But deaf to all his pray'rs the nymph remain'd,
'Till Thetis for her spouse the boon obtain'd.
Pleas'd with the luxury, the furious beast,
Unstop'd, continues still his bloody feast:
While yet upon a sturdy bull he flew,
Chang'd by the nymph, a marble block he grew.
No longer dreadful now the wolf appears,
Bury'd in stone, and vanish'd like their fears.
Yet still the Fates unhappy Peleus vex'd;
To the Magnesian shore he wanders next.
Acastus there, who rul'd the peaceful clime,
Grants his request, and expiates his crime.
The Story of Ceyx and Alcyone
These prodigies affect the pious prince,
But more perplex'd with those that happen'd since,
He purposes to seek the Clarian God,
Avoiding Delphi, his more fam'd abode,
Since Phlegyan robbers made unsafe the road.
Yet could he not from her he lov'd so well,
The fatal voyage, he resolv'd, conceal;
But when she saw her lord prepar'd to part,
A deadly cold ran shiv'ring to her heart;
Her faded cheeks are chang'd to boxen hue,
And in her eyes the tears are ever new.
She thrice essay'd to speak; her accents hung,
And falt'ring dy'd unfinish'd on her tongue,
And vanish'd into sighs: with long delay
Her voice return'd, and found the wonted way.
Tell me, my lord, she said, what fault unknown
Thy once belov'd Alcyone has done?
Whither, ah, whither, is thy kindness gone!
Can Ceyx then sustain to leave his wife,
And unconcern'd forsake the sweets of life?
What can thy mind to this long journey move?
Or need'st thou absence to renew thy love?
Yet, if thou go'st by land, tho' grief possess
My soul ev'n then, my fears will be the less.
But ah! be warn'd to shun the watry way,
The face is frightful of the stormy sea:
For late I saw a-drift disjointed planks,
And empty tombs erected on the banks.
Nor let false hopes to trust betray thy mind,
Because my sire in caves constrains the wind,
Can with a breath their clam'rous rage appease,
They fear his whistle, and forsake the seas:
Not so; for once indulg'd, they sweep the main;
Deaf to the call, or hearing, hear in vain;
But bent on mischief bear the waves before,
And not content with seas, insult the shore,
When ocean, air, and Earth, at once ingage,
And rooted forests fly before their rage:
At once the clashing clouds to battel move,
And lightnings run across the fields above:
I know them well, and mark'd their rude comport,
While yet a child within my father's court:
In times of tempest they comm and alone,
And he but sits precarious on the throne:
The more I know, the more my fears augment;
And fears are oft prophetick of th' event.
But if not fears, or reasons will prevail,
If Fate has fix'd thee obstinate to sail,
Go not without thy wife, but let me bear
My part of danger with an equal share,
And present, what I suffer only fear:
Then o'er the bounding billows shall we fly,
Secure to live together, or to die.
These reasons mov'd her warlike husband's heart,
But still he held his purpose to depart:
For as he lov'd her equal to his life,
He would not to the seas expose his wife;
Nor could be wrought his voyage to refrain,
But sought by arguments to sooth her pain:
Nor these avail'd; at length he lights on one,
With which so difficult a cause he won:
My love, so short an absence cease to fear,
For by my father's holy flame I swear,
Before two moons their orb with light adorn,
If Heav'n allow me life, I will return.
This promise of so short a stay prevails;
He soon equips the ship, supplies the sails,
And gives the word to launch; she trembling views
This pomp of death, and parting tears renews:
Last with a kiss, she took a long farewel,
Sigh'd with a sad presage, and swooning fell:
While Ceyx seeks delays, the lusty crew,
Rais'd on their banks, their oars in order drew
To their broad breasts, the ship with fury flew.
The queen recover'd, rears her humid eyes,
And first her husb and on the poop espies,
Shaking his hand at distance on the main;
She took the sign, and shook her hand again.
Still as the ground recedes, contracts her view
With sharpen'd sight, 'till she no longer knew
The much-lov'd face; that comfort lost supplies
With less, and with the galley feeds her eyes;
The galley born from view by rising gales,
She follow'd with her sight the flying sails:
When ev'n the flying sails were seen no more,
Forsaken of all sight she left the shore.
Then on her bridal bed her body throws,
And sought in sleep her wearied eyes to close:
Her husband's pillow, and the widow'd part
Which once he press'd, renew'd the former smart.
And now a breeze from shoar began to blow,
The sailors ship their oars, and cease to row;
Then hoist their yards a-trip, and all their sails
Let fall, to court the wind, and catch the gales:
By this the vessel half her course had run,
Both shoars were lost to sight, when at the close
Of day a stiffer gale at east arose:
The sea grew white, the rouling waves from far,
Like heralds, first denounce the watry war.
This seen, the master soon began to cry,
Strike, strike the top-sail; let the main-sheet fly,
And furl your sails: the winds repel the sound,
And in the speaker's mouth the speech is drown'd.
Yet of their own accord, as danger taught
Each in his way, officiously they wrought;
Some stow their oars, or stop the leaky sides,
Another bolder, yet the yard bestrides,
And folds the sails; a fourth with labour laves
Th' intruding seas, and waves ejects on waves.
In this confusion while their work they ply,
The winds augment the winter of the sky,
And wage intestine wars; the suff'ring seas
Are toss'd, and mingled, as their tyrants please.
The master would command, but in despair
Of safety, stands amaz'd with stupid care,
Nor what to bid, or what forbid he knows,
Th' ungovern'd tempest to such fury grows:
Vain is his force, and vainer is his skill;
With such a concourse comes the flood of ill;
The cries of men are mix'd with rattling shrowds;
Seas dash on seas, and clouds encounter clouds:
At once from east to west, from pole to pole,
The forky lightnings flash, the roaring thunders roul.
Now waves on waves ascending scale the skies,
And in the fires above the water fries:
When yellow sands are sifted from below,
The glittering billows give a golden show:
And when the fouler bottom spews the black
The Stygian dye the tainted waters take:
Then frothy white appear the flatted seas,
And change their colour, changing their disease,
Like various fits the Trachin vessel finds,
And now sublime, she rides upon the winds;
As from a lofty summit looks from high,
And from the clouds beholds the nether sky;
Now from the depth of Hell they lift their sight,
And at a distance see superior light;
The lashing billows make a loud report,
And beat her sides, as batt'ring rams a fort:
Or as a lion bounding in his way,
With force augmented, bears against his prey,
Sidelong to seize; or unapal'd with fear,
Springs on the toils, and rushes on the spear:
So seas impell'd by winds, with added pow'r
Assault the sides, and o'er the hatches tow'r.
The planks (their pitchy cov'ring wash'd away)
Now yield; and now a yawning breach display:
The roaring waters with a hostile tide
Rush through the ruins of her gaping side.
Mean-time in sheets of rain the sky descends,
And ocean swell'd with waters upwards tends;
One rising, falling one, the Heav'ns and sea
Meet at their confines, in the middle way:
The sails are drunk with show'rs, and drop with rain,
Sweet waters mingle with the briny main.
No star appears to lend his friendly light;
Darkness, and tempest make a double night;
But flashing fires disclose the deep by turns,
And while the lightnings blaze, the water burns.
Now all the waves their scatter'd force unite,
And as a soldier foremost in the fight,
Makes way for others, and an host alone
Still presses on, and urging gains the town;
So while th' invading billows come a-breast,
The hero tenth advanc'd before the rest,
Sweeps all before him with impetuous sway,
And from the walls descends upon the prey;
Part following enter, part remain without,
With envy hear their fellows' conqu'ring shout,
And mount on others' backs, in hopes to share
The city, thus become the seat of war.
An universal cry resounds aloud,
The sailors run in heaps, a helpless crowd;
Art fails, and courage falls, no succour near;
As many waves, as many deaths appear.
One weeps, and yet despairs of late relief;
One cannot weep, his fears congeal his grief,
But stupid, with dry eyes expects his fate:
One with loud shrieks laments his lost estate,
And calls those happy whom their fun'rals wait.
This wretch with pray'rs and vows the Gods implores,
And ev'n the skies he cannot see, adores.
That other on his friends his thoughts bestows,
His careful father, and his faithful spouse.
The covetous worldling in his anxious mind,
Thinks only on the wealth he left behind.
All Ceyx his Alcyone employs,
For her he grieves, yet in her absence joys:
His wife he wishes, and would still be near,
Not her with him, but wishes him with her:
Now with last looks he seeks his native shoar,
Which Fate has destin'd him to see no more;
He sought, but in the dark tempestuous night
He knew not whither to direct his sight.
So whirl the seas, such darkness blinds the sky,
That the black night receives a deeper dye.
The giddy ship ran round; the tempest tore
Her mast, and over-board the rudder bore.
One billow mounts, and with a scornful brow,
Proud of her conquest gain'd, insults the waves below;
Nor lighter falls, than if some giant tore
Pindus and Athos with the freight they bore,
And toss'd on seas; press'd with the pond'rous blow,
Down sinks the ship within th' abyss below:
Down with the vessel sink into the main
The many, never more to rise again.
Some few on scatter'd planks, with fruitless care,
Lay hold, and swim; but while they swim, despair.
Ev'n he who late a scepter did command,
Now grasps a floating fragment in his hand;
And while he struggles on the stormy main,
Invokes his father, and his wife's, in vain.
But yet his consort is his greatest care,
Alcyone he names amidst his pray'r;
Names as a charm against the waves and wind;
Most in his mouth, and ever in his mind.
Tir'd with his toil, all hopes of safety past,
From pray'rs to wishes he descends at last;
That his dead body, wafted to the sands,
Might have its burial from her friendly hands,
As oft as he can catch a gulp of air,
And peep above the seas, he names the fair;
And ev'n when plung'd beneath, on her he raves,
Murm'ring Alcyone below the waves:
At last a falling billow stops his breath,
Breaks o'er his head, and whelms him underneath.
That night, his heav'nly form obscur'd with tears,
And since he was forbid to leave the skies,
He muffled with a cloud his mournful eyes.
Mean-time Alcyone (his fate unknown)
Computes how many nights he had been gone.
Observes the waining moon with hourly view,
Numbers her age, and wishes for a new;
Against the promis'd time provides with care,
And hastens in the woof the robes he was to wear:
And for her self employs another loom,
New-dress'd to meet her lord returning home,
Flatt'ring her heart with joys, that never were to come:
She fum'd the temples with an od'rous flame,
And oft before the sacred altars came,
To pray for him, who was an empty name.
All Pow'rs implor'd, but far above the rest
To Juno she her pious vows address'd,
Her much-lov'd lord from perils to protect,
And safe o'er seas his voyage to direct:
Then pray'd, that she might still possess his heart,
And no pretending rival share a part;
This last petition heard of all her pray'r,
The rest, dispers'd by winds, were lost in air.
But she, the Goddess of the nuptial bed,
Tir'd with her vain devotions for the dead,
Resolv'd the tainted hand should be repell'd,
Which incense offer'd, and her altar held:
Then Iris thus bespoke: Thou faithful maid,
By whom thy queen's commands are well convey'd,
Haste to the house of sleep, and bid the God
Who rules the night by visions with a nod,
Prepare a dream, in figure, and in form
Resembling him, who perish'd in the storm;
This form before Alcyone present,
To make her certain of the sad event.
Indu'd with robes of various hue she flies,
And flying draws an arch (a segment of the skies):
Then leaves her bending bow, and from the steep
Descends, to search the silent house of sleep.
The House of Sleep
Near the Cymmerians, in his dark abode,
Deep in a cavern, dwells the drowzy God;
Whose gloomy mansion nor the rising sun,
Nor setting, visits, nor the lightsome noon;
But lazy vapours round the region fly,
Perpetual twilight, and a doubtful sky:
No crowing cock does there his wings display,
Nor with his horny bill provoke the day;
Nor watchful dogs, nor the more wakeful geese,
Disturb with nightly noise the sacred peace;
Nor beast of Nature, nor the tame are nigh,
Nor trees with tempests rock'd, nor human cry;
But safe repose without an air of breath
Dwells here, and a dumb quiet next to death.
An arm of Lethe, with a gentle flow
Arising upwards from the rock below,
The palace moats, and o'er the pebbles creeps,
And with soft murmurs calls the coming sleeps.
Around its entry nodding poppies grow,
And all cool simples that sweet rest bestow;
Night from the plants their sleepy virtue drains,
And passing, sheds it on the silent plains:
No door there was th' unguarded house to keep,
On creaking hinges turn'd, to break his sleep.
But in the gloomy court was rais'd a bed,
Stuff'd with black plumes, and on an ebon-sted:
Black was the cov'ring too, where lay the God,
And slept supine, his limbs display'd abroad:
About his head fantastick visions fly,
Which various images of things supply,
And mock their forms; the leaves on trees not more,
Nor bearded ears in fields, nor sands upon the shore.
The virgin ent'ring bright, indulg'd the day
To the brown cave, and brush'd the dreams away:
The God disturb'd with this new glare of light,
Cast sudden on his face, unseal'd his sight,
And rais'd his tardy head, which sunk again,
And sinking, on his bosom knock'd his chin;
At length shook off himself, and ask'd the dame,
(And asking yawn'd) for what intent she came.
To whom the Goddess thus: O sacred rest,
Sweet pleasing sleep, of all the Pow'rs the best!
O peace of mind, repairer of decay,
Whose balms renew the limbs to labours of the day,
Care shuns thy soft approach, and sullen flies away!
Adorn a dream, expressing human form,
The shape of him who suffer'd in the storm,
And send it flitting to the Trachin court,
The wreck of wretched Ceyx to report:
Before his queen bid the pale spectre stand,
Who begs a vain relief at Juno's hand.
She said, and scarce awake her eyes could keep,
Unable to support the fumes of sleep;
But fled, returning by the way she went,
And swerv'd along her bow with swift ascent.
The God, uneasy 'till he slept again,
Resolv'd at once to rid himself of pain;
And, tho' against his custom, call'd aloud,
Exciting Morpheus from the sleepy crowd:
Morpheus, of all his numerous train, express'd
The shape of man, and imitated best;
The walk, the words, the gesture could supply,
The habit mimick, and the mein bely;
Plays well, but all his action is confin'd,
Extending not beyond our human kind.
Another, birds, and beasts, and dragons apes,
And dreadful images, and monster shapes:
This demon, Icelos, in Heav'n's high hall
The Gods have nam'd; but men Phobetor call.
A third is Phantasus, whose actions roul
On meaner thoughts, and things devoid of soul;
Earth, fruits, and flow'rs he represents in dreams,
And solid rocks unmov'd, and running streams.
These three to kings, and chiefs their scenes display,
The rest before th' ignoble commons play.
Of these the chosen Morpheus is dispatch'd;
Which done, the lazy monarch, over-watch'd,
Down from his propping elbow drops his head,
Dissolv'd in sleep, and shrinks within his bed.
Darkling the demon glides, for flight prepar'd,
So soft, that scarce his fanning wings are heard.
To Trachin, swift as thought, the flitting shade,
Thro' air his momentary journey made:
Then lays aside the steerage of his wings,
Forsakes his proper form, assumes the king's;
And pale, as death, despoil'd of his array,
Into the queen's apartment takes his way,
And stands before the bed at dawn of day:
Unmov'd his eyes, and wet his beard appears;
And shedding vain, but seeming real tears;
The briny waters dropping from his hairs.
Then staring on her with a ghastly look,
And hollow voice, he thus the queen bespoke.
Know'st thou not me? Not yet, unhappy wife?
Or are my features perish'd with my life?
Look once again, and for thy husb and lost,
Lo all that's left of him, thy husband's ghost!
Thy vows for my return were all in vain,
The stormy south o'ertook us in the main,
And never shalt thou see thy living lord again.
Bear witness, Heav'n, I call'd on thee in death,
And while I call'd, a billow stop'd my breath.
Think not, that flying fame reports my fate;
I present, I appear, and my own wreck relate.
Rise, wretched widow, rise; nor undeplor'd
Permit my soul to pass the Stygian ford;
But rise, prepar'd in black, to mourn thy perish'd lord.
Thus said the player-God; and adding art
Of voice and gesture, so perform'd his part,
She thought (so like her love the shade appears)
That Ceyx spake the words, and Ceyx shed the tears;
She groan'd, her inward soul with grief opprest,
She sigh'd, she wept, and sleeping beat her breast;
Then stretch'd her arms t' embrace his body bare;
Her clasping arms inclose but empty air:
At this, not yet awake, she cry'd, O stay;
One is our fate, and common is our way!
So dreadful was the dream, so loud she spoke,
That starting sudden up, the slumber broke:
Then cast her eyes around, in hope to view
Her vanish'd lord, and find the vision true:
For now the maids, who waited her commands,
Ran in with lighted tapers in their hands.
Tir'd with the search, not finding what she seeks,
With cruel blows she pounds her blubber'd cheeks;
Then from her beaten breast the linnen tare,
And cut the golden caul that bound her hair.
Her nurse demands the cause; with louder cries
She prosecutes her griefs, and thus replies.
No more Alcyone; she suffer'd death
With her lov'd lord, when Ceyx lost his breath:
No flatt'ry, no false comfort, give me none,
My shipwreck'd Ceyx is for ever gone:
I saw, I saw him manifest in view,
His voice, his figure, and his gestures knew:
His lustre lost, and ev'ry living grace,
Yet I retain'd the features of his face;
Tho' with pale cheeks, wet beard, and dropping hair,
None but my Ceyx could appear so fair:
I would have strain'd him with a strict embrace,
But thro' my arms he slipt, and vanish'd from the place:
There, ev'n just there he stood; and as she spoke,
Where last the spectre was she cast her look:
Fain would she hope, and gaz'd upon the ground,
If any printed footsteps might be found.
Then sigh'd, and said: This I too well foreknew,
And my prophetick fears presag'd too true:
'Twas what I begg'd, when with a bleeding heart
I took my leave, and suffer'd thee to part;
Or I to go along, or thou to stay,
Never, ah never to divide our way!
Happier for me, that all our hours assign'd
Together we had liv'd; ev'n not in death disjoin'd!
So had my Ceyx still been living here,
Or with my Ceyx I had perish'd there:
Now I die absent, in the vast profound;
And me, without my self, the seas have drown'd.
The storms were not so cruel: should I strive
To leng then life, and such a grief survive;
But neither will I strive, nor wretched thee
In death forsake, but keep thee company.
If not one common sepulchre contains
Our bodies, or one urn our last remains,
Yet Ceyx and Alcyone shall join,
Their names remember'd in one common line.
No farther voice her mighty grief affords,
For sighs come rushing in betwixt her words,
And stop'd her tongue; but what her tongue deny'd,
Soft tears, and groans, and dumb complaints supply'd.
'Twas morning; to the port she takes her way,
And stands upon the margin of the sea:
That place, that very spot of ground she sought,
Or thither by her destiny was brought,
Where last he stood: and while she sadly said,
'Twas here he left me, lingring here delay'd
His parting kiss, and there his anchors weigh'd.
Thus speaking, while her thoughts past actions trace,
And call to mind, admonish'd by the place,
Sharp at her utmost ken she cast her eyes,
And somewhat floating from afar descries:
It seems a corps a-drift to distant sight,
But at a distance who could judge aright?
It wafted nearer yet, and then she knew,
That what before she but surmis'd, was true:
A corps it was, but whose it was, unknown,
Yet mov'd, howe'er, she made the cause her own.
Took the bad omen of a shipwreck'd man,
As for a stranger wept, and thus began.
Poor wretch, on stormy seas to lose thy life,
Unhappy thou, but more thy widow'd wife;
At this she paus'd: for now the flowing tide
Had brought the body nearer to the side:
The more she looks, the more her fears increase,
At nearer sight; and she's her self the less:
Now driv'n ashore, and at her feet it lies,
She knows too much in knowing whom she sees:
Her husband's corps; at this she loudly shrieks,
'Tis he, 'tis he, she cries, and tears her cheeks,
Her hair, and vest; and stooping to the sands,
About his neck she cast her trembling hands.
And is it thus, o dearer than my life,
Thus, thus return'st thou to thy longing wife!
She said, and to the neighbouring mole she strode,
(Rais'd there to break th' incursions of the flood).
Headlong from hence to plunge her self she springs,
But shoots along, supported on her wings;
A bird new-made, about the banks she plies,
Not far from shore, and short excursions tries;
Nor seeks in air her humble flight to raise,
Content to skim the surface of the seas:
Her bill tho' slender, sends a creaking noise,
And imitates a lamentable voice.
Now lighting where the bloodless body lies,
She with a fun'ral note renews her cries:
At all her stretch, her little wings she spread,
And with her feather'd arms embrac'd the dead:
Then flick'ring to his palid lips, she strove
To print a kiss, the last essay of love.
Whether the vital touch reviv'd the dead,
Or that the moving waters rais'd his head
To meet the kiss, the vulgar doubt alone;
For sure a present miracle was shown.
The Gods their shapes to winter-birds translate,
But both obnoxious to their former fate.
Their conjugal affection still is ty'd,
And still the mournful race is multiply'd:
They bill, they tread; Alcyone compress'd,
Sev'n days sits brooding on her floating nest:
A wintry queen: her sire at length is kind,
Calms ev'ry storm, and hushes ev'ry wind;
Prepares his empire for his daughter's ease,
And for his hatching nephews smooths the seas.
Aesacus transform'd into a Cormorant
These some old man sees wanton in the air,
And praises the unhappy constant pair.
Then to his friend the long-neck'd corm'rant shows,
The former tale reviving others' woes:
That sable bird, he cries, which cuts the flood
With slender legs, was once of royal blood;
His ancestors from mighty Tros proceed,
The brave Laomedon, and Ganymede
(Whose beauty tempted Jove to steal the boy),
And Priam, hapless prince! who fell with Troy:
Himself was Hector's brother, and (had Fate
But giv'n this hopeful youth a longer date)
Perhaps had rival'd warlike Hector's worth,
Tho' on the mother's side of meaner birth;
Fair Alyxothoe, a country maid,
Bare Aesacus by stealth in Ida's shade.
He fled the noisy town, and pompous court,
Lov'd the lone hills, and simple rural sport.
And seldom to the city would resort.
Yet he no rustick clownishness profest,
Nor was soft love a stranger to his breast:
The youth had long the nymph Hesperie woo'd,
Oft thro' the thicket, or the mead pursu'd:
Her haply on her father's bank he spy'd,
While fearless she her silver tresses dry'd;
Away she fled: not stags with half such speed,
Before the prowling wolf, scud o'er the mead;
Not ducks, when they the safer flood forsake,
Pursu'd by hawks, so swift regain the lake.
As fast he follow'd in the hot career;
Desire the lover wing'd, the virgin fear.
A snake unseen now pierc'd her heedless foot;
Quick thro' the veins the venom'd juices shoot:
She fell, and 'scap'd by death his fierce pursuit;
Her lifeless body, frighted, he embrac'd,
And cry'd, Not this I dreaded, but thy haste:
O had my love been less, or less thy fear!
The victory, thus bought, is far too dear.
Accursed snake! yet I more curs'd than he!
He gave the wound; the cause was given by me.
Yet none shall say, that unreveng'd you dy'd.
He spoke; then climb'd a cliff's o'er-hanging side,
And, resolute, leap'd on the foaming tide.
Tethys receiv'd him gently on the wave;
The death he sought deny'd, and feathers gave.
Debarr'd the surest remedy of grief,
And forc'd to live, he curst th' unask'd relief.
Then on his airy pinions upward flies,
And at a second fall successless tries;
The downy plume a quick descent denies.
Enrag'd, he often dives beneath the wave,
And there in vain expects to find a grave.
His ceaseless sorrow for th' unhappy maid,
Meager'd his look, and on his spirits prey'd.
Still near the sounding deep he lives; his name
From frequent diving and emerging came.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
~ Ovid, BOOK THE ELEVENTH
,#NFDB
2032 Integral Yoga
520 Poetry
224 Occultism
170 Christianity
164 Philosophy
126 Fiction
115 Yoga
75 Psychology
38 Islam
34 Science
29 Mysticism
29 Hinduism
20 Mythology
19 Kabbalah
18 Theosophy
16 Integral Theory
15 Education
14 Sufism
11 Buddhism
8 Cybernetics
6 Philsophy
6 Baha i Faith
4 Zen
1 Thelema
1 Alchemy
1045 The Mother
1017 Sri Aurobindo
629 Satprem
356 Nolini Kanta Gupta
89 H P Lovecraft
85 Aleister Crowley
73 Carl Jung
62 William Wordsworth
58 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
57 Plotinus
56 Sri Ramakrishna
53 James George Frazer
48 Walt Whitman
44 Percy Bysshe Shelley
38 Muhammad
35 Robert Browning
33 Swami Krishnananda
33 Saint Augustine of Hippo
33 Friedrich Nietzsche
31 John Keats
28 Jorge Luis Borges
25 Saint Teresa of Avila
24 A B Purani
23 Rudolf Steiner
22 Swami Vivekananda
22 Friedrich Schiller
22 Anonymous
21 Aldous Huxley
20 Vyasa
19 Saint John of Climacus
19 Rabbi Moses Luzzatto
19 Lucretius
19 Franz Bardon
17 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
13 William Butler Yeats
13 Ovid
13 Nirodbaran
13 Li Bai
13 Edgar Allan Poe
12 Plato
11 Rainer Maria Rilke
11 Rabindranath Tagore
11 Paul Richard
11 George Van Vrekhem
9 Peter J Carroll
9 Kabir
9 Jalaluddin Rumi
8 Sri Ramana Maharshi
8 Norbert Wiener
7 Joseph Campbell
7 Baha u llah
7 Alice Bailey
6 Swami Sivananda Saraswati
6 Ralph Waldo Emerson
6 Jordan Peterson
6 Hsuan Chueh of Yung Chia
6 Henry David Thoreau
6 Al-Ghazali
5 Thubten Chodron
5 Kobayashi Issa
5 Bokar Rinpoche
4 Patanjali
4 Jetsun Milarepa
4 Ibn Arabi
4 Aristotle
3 Yosa Buson
3 Symeon the New Theologian
3 Saint Francis of Assisi
3 R Buckminster Fuller
3 Lewis Carroll
3 Ken Wilber
3 Farid ud-Din Attar
3 Abu-Said Abil-Kheir
2 Ramprasad
2 Masahide
2 Mahendranath Gupta
2 Lalla
2 Jorge Luis Borges
2 Jean Gebser
2 Jacopone da Todi
2 Italo Calvino
2 H. P. Lovecraft
2 Hakuin
2 Genpo Roshi
2 Dadu Dayal
400 Record of Yoga
137 The Synthesis Of Yoga
89 Lovecraft - Poems
86 Prayers And Meditations
78 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03
71 Agenda Vol 01
66 Questions And Answers 1957-1958
63 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04
62 Wordsworth - Poems
56 Agenda Vol 04
55 The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
54 The Life Divine
54 Agenda Vol 10
53 The Golden Bough
52 Magick Without Tears
52 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02
52 Agenda Vol 13
51 Agenda Vol 08
50 Questions And Answers 1950-1951
50 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01
49 Agenda Vol 02
48 Essays In Philosophy And Yoga
48 Agenda Vol 03
47 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07
46 Whitman - Poems
45 Letters On Yoga IV
44 Shelley - Poems
42 Questions And Answers 1956
42 Letters On Yoga II
41 Agenda Vol 05
39 On Thoughts And Aphorisms
38 Quran
37 Agenda Vol 06
36 Questions And Answers 1953
35 Questions And Answers 1954
35 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05
35 Browning - Poems
35 Agenda Vol 07
34 Agenda Vol 09
33 The Study and Practice of Yoga
33 Agenda Vol 12
33 Agenda Vol 11
32 Savitri
32 Questions And Answers 1955
31 Liber ABA
31 Keats - Poems
29 Thus Spoke Zarathustra
28 Mysterium Coniunctionis
28 Letters On Yoga III
27 Essays On The Gita
24 Words Of Long Ago
24 Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo
23 The Human Cycle
22 Schiller - Poems
22 Questions And Answers 1929-1931
22 City of God
21 The Perennial Philosophy
21 The Future of Man
21 The Divine Comedy
21 The Bible
21 Letters On Yoga I
20 Vishnu Purana
20 The Practice of Psycho therapy
20 Labyrinths
19 The Ladder of Divine Ascent
19 Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness
19 Plotinus - Complete Works Vol 01
19 Of The Nature Of Things
19 General Principles of Kabbalah
19 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 08
17 Essays Divine And Human
16 Plotinus - Complete Works Vol 04
16 On the Way to Supermanhood
15 The Way of Perfection
15 On Education
14 The Secret Of The Veda
14 The Phenomenon of Man
14 The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
14 Isha Upanishad
13 Yeats - Poems
13 Words Of The Mother II
13 Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo
13 Some Answers From The Mother
13 Metamorphoses
13 Li Bai - Poems
13 Let Me Explain
12 The Mother With Letters On The Mother
12 The Confessions of Saint Augustine
12 Talks
12 Poe - Poems
12 Faust
11 Theosophy
11 Tagore - Poems
11 Rilke - Poems
11 Preparing for the Miraculous
11 Plotinus - Complete Works Vol 03
11 Plotinus - Complete Works Vol 02
11 Letters On Poetry And Art
11 Aion
10 Vedic and Philological Studies
10 The Practice of Magical Evocation
10 Knowledge of the Higher Worlds
10 Hymn of the Universe
10 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 06
10 A Garden of Pomegranates - An Outline of the Qabalah
9 The Interior Castle or The Mansions
9 Raja-Yoga
9 Liber Null
9 Kena and Other Upanishads
9 Initiation Into Hermetics
9 Collected Poems
9 Bhakti-Yoga
9 Anonymous - Poems
8 The Integral Yoga
8 Dark Night of the Soul
8 Cybernetics
8 Borges - Poems
7 The Problems of Philosophy
7 The Hero with a Thousand Faces
7 The Blue Cliff Records
7 Rumi - Poems
7 A Treatise on Cosmic Fire
6 Words Of The Mother III
6 Walden
6 The Secret Doctrine
6 The Alchemy of Happiness
6 Maps of Meaning
6 Emerson - Poems
5 Tara - The Feminine Divine
5 Songs of Kabir
5 Hymns to the Mystic Fire
5 How to Free Your Mind - Tara the Liberator
5 Goethe - Poems
5 Crowley - Poems
5 5.1.01 - Ilion
4 Twilight of the Idols
4 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
4 Poetics
4 Patanjali Yoga Sutras
4 Milarepa - Poems
4 Amrita Gita
3 Words Of The Mother I
3 The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma
3 The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep
3 The Red Book Liber Novus
3 The Lotus Sutra
3 The Book of Certitude
3 Synergetics - Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking
3 Sex Ecology Spirituality
3 Beating the Cloth Drum Letters of Zen Master Hakuin
3 Arabi - Poems
3 Alice in Wonderland
2 Writings In Bengali and Sanskrit
2 The Ever-Present Origin
2 The Essentials of Education
2 The Castle of Crossed Destinies
2 Symposium
2 Song of Myself
2 Selected Fictions
2 God Exists
2 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2E
0 0.01 - Introduction, #Agenda Vol 1, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
We landed there, one day in February 1954, having emerged from our Guianese forest and a certain number of dead-end peripluses; we had knocked upon all the doors of the old world before reaching that point of absolute impossibility where it was truly necessary to embark into something else or once and for all put a bullet through the brain of this slightly superior ape. The first thing that struck us was this exotic Notre Dame with its burning incense sticks, its effigies and its prostrations in immaculate white: a Church. We nearly jumped into the first train out that very evening, bound straight for the Himalayas, or the devil. But we remained near Mother for nineteen years. What was it, then, that could have held us there? We had not left Guiana to become a little saint in white or to enter some new religion. 'I did not come upon earth to found an ashram; that would have been a poor aim indeed,' She wrote in 1934. What did all this mean, then, this 'Ashram' that was already registered as the owner of a great spiritual business, and this fragile, little silhouette at the c enter of all these zealous worshippers? In truth, there is no better way to smother someone than to worship him: he chokes beneath the weight of worship, which moreover gives the worshipper claim to ownership. 'Why do you want to worship?' She exclaimed. 'You have but to become! It is the laziness to become that makes one worship.' She wanted so much to make them
become this 'something else,' but it was far easier to worship and quiesc ently remain what one was.
--
She were making fun of us, then loving us in secret), She told us, 'I have the feeling that ALL we have lived, ALL we have known, ALL we have done is a perfect illusion ... When I had the spiritual experience that material life is an illusion, personally I found that so marvelously beautiful and happy that it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life, but now it is the entire spiritual structure as we have lived it that is becoming an illusion! - Not the same illusion, but an illusion far worse. And I am no baby: I have been here for forty-seven years now!' Yes, She was eighty-three years old then. And that day, we ceased being 'the enemy of our own conception of the Divine,' for this entire Divine was shattered to pieces - and we met Mother, at last. This mystery we call
Mother, for She never ceased being a mystery right to her ninety-fifth year, and to this day still, challenges us from the other side of a wall of invisibility and keeps us floundering fully in the mystery - with a smile. She always smiles. But the mystery is not solved.
--
TRULY to the conquest of the new. The 'new' is painful, discouraging, it resembles nothing we know! We cannot hoist the flag of an unconquered country - but this is what is so marvelous: it does not yet exist. We must MAKE IT EXIST. The adv enture has not been carved out: it is to be carved out. Truth is not entrapped and fossilized, 'spiritualized': it is to be discovered. We are in a nothing that we must force to become a something. We are in the adv enture of the new species. A new species is obviously contradictory to the old species and to the little flags of the alreadyknown. It has nothing in common with the spiritual summits of the old world, nor even with its abysms - which might be delightfully tempting for those who have had enough of the summits, but everything is the same, in black or white, it is fraternal above and below. SOMETHING ELSE is needed.
'Are you conscious of your ceils?' She asked us a short time after the little operation of spiritual demolition She had undergone. 'No? Well, become conscious of your cells, and you will see that it gives TERRESTRIAL results.' To become conscious of one's cells? ... It was a far more radical operation than crossing the Maroni with a machete in hand, for after all, trees and lianas can be cut, but what cannot be so easily uncovered are the grandfa ther and the grandmo ther and the whole atavistic pack, not to m ention the animal and plant and mineral layers that form a teeming humus over this single pure little cell beneath its millennial genetic program. The grandfa thers and grandmo thers grow back again like crabgrass, along with all the old habits of being hungry, afraid, falling ill, fearing the worst, hoping for the best, which is still the best of an old mortal habit. All this is not uprooted nor entrapped as easily as celestial 'liberations,' which leave the teeming humus in peace and the body to its usual decomposition. She had come to hew a path through all that. She was the Anci ent One of evolution who had come to make a new cleft in the old, tedious habit of being a man. She did not like tedious repetitions, She was the adv enturess par excellence - the adv enturess of the earth. She was wrenching out for man the great Possible that was already beating there, in his primeval clearing, which he believed he had mom entarily trapped with a few machines.
She was uprooting a new Matter, free, free from the habit of inexorably being a man who repeats himself ad infinitum with a few improvem ents in the way of organ transplants or monetary exchanges. In fact, She was there to discover what would happen after materialism and after spiritualism, these prodigal twin brothers. Because Materialism is dying in the West for the same reason that Spiritualism is dying in the East: it is the hour of the new species. Man needs to awaken, not only from his demons but also from his gods. A new Matter, yes, like a new Spirit, yes, because we still know neither one nor the other. It is the hour when Science, like Spirituality, at the end of their roads, must discover what Matter TRULY is, for it is really there that a Spirit as yet unknown to us is to be found. It is a time when all the 'isms' of the old species are dying: 'The age of
--
This fabulous discovery is the whole story of the AGENDA. What is the passage? How is the path to the new species hewed open? ... Then suddenly, there, on the other side of this old millennial habit - a habit, nothing more than a habit! - of being like a man endowed with time and space and disease: an entire geometry, perfectly implacable and 'sci entific' and medical; on the other side ... none of that at all! An illusion, a fantastic medical and sci entific and genetic illusion:
death does not exist, time does not exist, disease does not exist, nor do 'scar' and 'far' - another way of being IN A BODY. For so many millions of years we have lived in a habit and put our own thoughts of the world and of Matter into equations. No more laws! Matter is FREE. It can create a little lizard, a chipmunk or a parrot - but it has created enough parrots. Now it is SOMETHING
00.01 - The Approach to Mysticism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The warning seems to have fallen, in the modern age, on unheeding ears. For the modern mind, being pre-emin ently and uncompromisingly sci entific, can entertain no doubt as to the perfect competency of science and the sci entific method to seize and unveil any secret of Nature. If, it is argued, mysticism is a secret, if there is at all a truth and reality in it, then it is and must be amenable to the rules and regulations of science; for science is the revealer of Nature's secrecies.
But what is not recognised in this view of things is that there are secrecies and secrecies. The material secrecies of Nature are of one category, the mystic secrecies are of another. The two are not only disparate but incommensurable. Any man with a mind and understanding of average culture can see and handle the 'sci entific' forces, but not the mystic forces.
A sci entist once thought that he had clinched the issue and cut the Gordian knot when he declared triumphantly with reference to spirit sances: "Very significant is the fact that spirits appear only in closed chambers, in half obscurity, to somnol ent minds; they are nowhere in the open air, in broad daylight to the wide awake and vigilant intellect!" Well, if the fact is as it is stated, what does it prove? Night alone reveals the stars, during the day they vanish, but that is no proof that stars are not exist ent. Rather the true sci entific spirit should seek to know why (or how) it is so, if it is so, and such a fact would exactly serve as a pointer, a significant starting ground. The attitude of the jesting Pilate is not helpful even to sci entific inquiry. This matter of the Spirits we have taken only as an illustration and it must not be understood that this is a domain of high mysticism; rather the contrary. The spiritualists' approach to Mysticism is not the right one and is fraught with not only errors but dangers. For the spiritualists approach their subject with the entire sci entific apparatus the only difference being that the sci entist does not believe while the spiritualist believes.
Mystic realities cannot be reached by the sci entific consciousness, because they are far more subtle than the subtlest object that science can contemplate. The neutrons and positrons are for science today the finest and profoundest object-forces; they belong, it is said, almost to a borderl and where physics ends. Nor for that reason is a mystic reality something like a mathematical abstraction, -n for example. The mystic reality is subtler than the subtlest of physical things and yet, paradoxical to say, more concrete than the most concrete thing that the senses apprehend.
--
For it must be understood that the heart, the mystic heart, is not the external thing which is the seat of emotion or passion; it is the secret heart that is behind, the inner heartantarhdaya of the Upanishadwhich is the c entre of the individual consciousness, where all the diverg ent lines of that consciousness meet and from where they take their rise. That is what the Upanishad means when it says that the heart has a hundred channels which feed the human vehicle. That is the source, the fount and origin, the very substance of the true personality. Mystic knowledge the true mystic knowledge which saves and fulfilsbegins with the awakening or the entrance into this real being. This being is pure and luminous and blissful and sovereignly real, because it is a portion, a spark of the Divine Consciousness and Nature: a contact and communion with it brings automatically into play the light and the truth that are its substance. At the same time it is an uprising flame that reaches out naturally to higher domains of consciousness and manifests them through its translucid dynamism.
The knowledge that is obtained without the heart's instrum entation or co-operation is liable to be what the Gita describes as Asuric. First of all, from the point of view of knowledge itself, it would be, as I have already said, egoc entric, a product and ag ent of one's limited and isolated self, easily put at the service of desire and passion. This knowledge, whether rationalistic or occult, is, as it were, hard and dry in its constitution, and oftener than not, negative and destructivewi thering and blasting in its career like the desert simoom.
00.01 - The Mother on Savitri, #Sweet Mother - Harmonies of Light, #unset, #Zen
In truth, the entire form of Savitri has descended "en masse" from the highest region and Sri Aurobindo with His genius only arranged the lines - in a superb and magnific ent style. Sometimes entire lines were revealed and He has left them intact; He worked hard, untiringly, so that the inspiration could come from the highest possible summit. And what a work He has created! Yes, it is a true creation in itself. It is an unequalled work. Everything is there, and it is put in such a simple, such a clear form; verses perfectly harmonious, limpid and eternally true. My child, I have read so many things, but I have never come across anything which could be compared with Savitri. I have studied the best works in Greek, Latin, English and of course French literature, also in German and all the great creations of the West and the East, including the great epics; but I repeat it, I have not found anywhere anything comparable with Savitri. All these literary works seems to me empty, flat, hollow, without any deep reality - apart from a few rare exceptions, and these too repres ent only a small fraction of what Savitri is. What grandeur, what amplitude, what reality: it is something immortal and eternal He has created. I tell you once again there is nothing like in it the whole world. Even if one puts aside the vision of the reality, that is, the ess ential substance which is the heart of the inspiration, and considers only the lines in themselves, one will find them unique, of the highest classical kind. What He has created is something man cannot imagine. For, everything is there, everything.
It may then be said that Savitri is a revelation, it is a meditation, it is a quest of the Infinite, the Eternal. If it is read with this aspiration for Immortality, the reading itself will serve as a guide to Immortality. To read Savitri is indeed to practice Yoga, spiritual conc entration; one can find there all that is needed to realise the Divine. Each step of Yoga is noted here, including the secret of all other Yogas. Surely, if one sincerely follows what is revealed here in each line one will reach finally the transformation of the Supram ental Yoga. It is truly the infallible guide who never abandons you; its support is always there for him who wants to follow the path. Each verse of Savitri is like a revealed Mantra which surpasses all that man possessed by way of knowledge, and I repeat this, the words are expressed and arranged in such a way that the sonority of the rhythm leads you to the origin of sound, which is OM.
--
These are experiences lived by Him, realities, supracosmic truths. He experienced all these as one experiences joy or sorrow, physically. He walked in the darkness of inconscience, even in the neighborhood of death, endured the sufferings of perdition, and emerged from the mud, the world-misery to brea the the sovereign plenitude and enter the supreme Ananda. He crossed all these realms, w ent through the consequences, suffered and endured physically what one cannot imagine. Nobody till today has suffered like Him. He accepted suffering to transform suffering into the joy of union with the Supreme. It is something unique and incomparable in the history of the world. It is something that has never happened before, He is the first to have traced the path in the Unknown, so that we may be able to walk with certitude towards the Supermind. He has made the work easy for us. Savitri is His whole Yoga of transformation, and this Yoga appears now for the first time in the earth-consciousness.
And I think that man is not yet ready to receive it. It is too high and too vast for him. He cannot understand it, grasp it, for it is not by the mind that one can understand Savitri. One needs spiritual experiences in order to understand and assimilate it. The farther one advances on the path of Yoga, the more does one assimilate and the better. No, it is something which will be appreciated only in the future, it is the poetry of tomorrow of which He has spoken in The Future Poetry. It is too subtle, too refined, - it is not in the mind or through the mind, it is in meditation that Savitri is revealed.
00.02 - Mystic Symbolism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
A symbol symbolizes something for this reason that both possess in common a certain id entical, at least similar, quality or rhythm or vibration, the symbol possessing it in a grosser or more appar ent or sensuous form than the thing symbolized does. Sometimes it may happen that it is more than a certain quality or rhythm or vibration that is common between the two: the symbol in its entirety is the thing symbolized but thrown down on another plane, it is the embodim ent of the latter in a more concrete world. The light and the fire that Saint Paul and Moses saw appear to be of this kind.
Thus there is a great diversity of symbols. At the one end is the mere metaphor or simile or allegory ('figure', as we have called it) and at the other end is the symbol id entical with the thing symbolized. And upon this inner character of the symbol depends also to a large ext ent its range and scope. There are symbols which are universal and intimately ingrained in the human consciousness itself. Mankind has used them in all ages and climes almost in the same sense and significance. There are others that are limited to peoples and ages. They are made out of forms that are of local and temporal interest and importance. Their significances vary according to time and place. Finally, there are symbols which are true of the individual consciousness only; they depend on personal peculiarities and idiosyncrasies, on one's environm ent and upbringing and education.
00.03 - Upanishadic Symbolism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The Sun is the first and the most immediate source of light that man has and needs. He is the presiding deity of our waking consciousness and has his seat in the eyecakusa ditya, ditya caku bhtvakii prviat. The eye is the repres entative of the senses; it is the sense par excellence. In truth, sense-perception is the initial light with which we have to guide us, it is the light with which we start on the way. A developed stage comes when the Sun sets for us, that is to say, when we retire from the senses and rise into the mind, whose divinity is the Moon. It is the m ental knowledge, the light of reason and intelligence, of reflection and imagination that govern our consciousness. We have to proceed farther and get beyond the mind, exceed the derivative light of the Moon. So when the Moon sets, the Fire is kindled. It is the light of the ard ent and aspiring heart, the glow of an inner urge, the instincts and inspirations of our secret life-will. Here we come into touch with a source of knowledge and realization, a guidance more direct than the mind and much deeper than the sense-perception. Still this light partakes more of heat than of pure luminosity; it is, one may say, incandesc ent feeling, but not vision. We must probe deeper, mount higherreach heights and profundities that are serene and transpar ent. The Fire is to be quieted and silenced, says the Upanishad. Then we come nearer, to the immediate vicinity of the Truth: an inner hearing opens, the direct voice of Truth the Wordreaches us to lead and guide. Even so, however, we have not come to the end of our journey; the Word of revelation is not the ultimate Light. The Word too is clothing, though a luminous clothinghiramayam ptram When this last veil dissolves and disappears, when utter silence, absolute calm and quietude reign in the entire consciousness, when no other lights trouble or distract our att ention, there appears the Atman in its own body; we stand face to face with the source of all lights, the self of the Light, the light of the Self. We are that Light and we become that Light.
II. The Four Oblations
--
The duty of life consists, it is said, in the repaying of three debts which every man contracts as soon as he takes birth upon earth the debt to the Gods, to Men and to the Ancestors. This threefold debt or duty has, in other terms, reference to the three fields or domains wherein an embodied being lives and moves and to which he must adjust and react rightly -if he is to secure for his life an integral fulfilm ent. These are the family, society and the world and beyond-world. The Gods are the Powers that rule the world and beyond, they are the forms and forces of the One Spirit underlying the universe, the varied expressions of divine Truth and Reality: To worship the Gods, to do one's duty by them, means to come into contact and to be unitedin being, consciousness and activitywith the universal and spiritual existence, which is the supreme end and purpose of human life. The seconda more circumscribed fieldis the society to which one belongs, the particular group of humanity in which he functions as a limb. The service to society or good citizenship entails the worship of humanity, of Man as a god. Lastly, man belongs to the family, which is the unit of society; and the backbone of the family is the continuous line of ancestors, who are its presiding deity and repres ent the norm of a living dharma, the ethic of an ideal life.
From the psychological standpoint, the four oblations are movem ents or reactions of consciousness in its urge towards the utterance and expression of Divine Truth. Like some other elem ents in the cosmic play, these also form a quartetcaturvyha and work together for a common purpose in view of a perfect and all-round result.
--
And in response they descend and approach and enter into the aspiring human soulthis desc ent and revelation and near and concrete presence of Divinity, this Hanta is man's food, for by it his consciousness is nourished.
This interchange, or mutual giving, the High Covenant between the Gods and Men, to which the Gita too refers
--
King Yama initiated Nachiketas into the mystery of Fire Worship and spoke of three fires that have to be kindled if one aspires to enter the heaven of immortality.
The three fires are named elsewhere Garhapatya, Dakshina, and Ahavaniya.9 They are the three tongues of the one c entral Agni, that dwells secreted in the hearth of the soul. They manifest as aspirations that flame up from the three fundam ental levels of our being, the body, the life and the mind. For although the spiritual consciousness is the natural elem ent of the soul and is gained in and through the soul, yet, in order that man may take possession of it and dwell in it consciously, in order that the soul's empire may be established, the external being too must respond to the soul's impact and yearn for its truth in the Spirit. The mind, the life and the body which are usually obstructions in the path, must discover the secret flame that is in them tooeach has his own portion of the Soul's Fireand mount on its ard ent tongue towards the heights of the Spirit.
--
The biological process, described in what may seem to be crude and mediaeval terms, really reflects or echoes a more subtle and psychological process. The images used form perhaps part of the curr ent popular notion about the matter, but the esoteric sense goes beyond the outer symbols. The sky seems to be the far and tenuous region where the soul rests and awaits its next birthit is the region of Soma, the own Home of Bliss and Immortality. Now when the time or call comes, the soul stirs and journeys down that is the Rain. Next, it enters the earth atmosphere and clothes itself with the earth consciousness. Then it waits and calls for the formation of the material body, first by the contri bution of the father and then by that of the mother; when these two unite and the material body is formed, the soul incarnates.
Apart from the question whether the biological phenomenon described is really a symbol and a cloak for another order of reality, and even taking it at its face value, what is to be noted here is the idea of a cosmic cycle, and a cosmic cycle that proceeds through the principle of sacrifice. If it is asked what there is wonderful or particularly spiritual in this rather naf description of a very commonplace happening that gives it an honoured place in the Upanishads, the answer is that it is wonderful to see how the Upanishadic Rishi takes from an ev ent its local, temporal and personal colour and incorporates it in a global movem ent, a cosmic cycle, as a limb of the Universal Brahman. The Upanishads contain passages which a puritanical m entality may perhaps describe as 'pornographic'; these have in fact been put by some on the Index expurgatorius. But the anci ents saw these matters with other eyes and through another consciousness.
--
Still the Upanishad says this is not the final end. There is yet a higher status of reality and consciousness to which one has to rise. For beyond the Cosmos lies the Transcend ent. The Upanishad expresses this truth and experience in various symbols. The cosmic reality, we have seen, is often conceived as a septenary, a unity of seven elem ents, principles and worlds. Further to give it its full complex value, it is considered not as a simple septet, but a threefold heptad the whole gamut, as it were, consisting of 21 notes or syllables. The Upanishad says, this number does not exhaust the entire range; I for there is yet a 22nd place. This is the world beyond the Sun, griefless and deathless, the supreme Selfhood. The Veda I also sometimes speaks of the integral reality as being repres ented by the number 100 which is 99 + I; in other words, 99 repres ents the cosmic or universal, the unity being the reality beyond, the Transcend ent.
Elsewhere the Upanishad describes more graphically this truth and the experience of it. It is said there that the sun has fivewe note the familiar fivemovem ents of rising and setting: (i) from East to West, (ii) from South to North, (iii) from West to East, (iv) from North to South and (v) from abovefrom the Zenithdownward. These are the five normal and appar ent movem ents. But there is a sixth one; rather it is not a movem ent, but a status, where the sun neither rises nor sets, but is always visible fixed in the same position.
--
In Yajnavalkya's enumeration, however, it is to be noted, first of all, that he stresses on the number three. The principle of triplicity is of very wide application: it permeates all fields of consciousness and is evid ently based upon a fundam ental fact of reality. It seems to embody a truth of synthesis and comprehension, points to the order and harmony that reigns in the cosmos, the spheric music. The metaphysical, that is to say, the original principles that constitute existence are the well-known triplets: (i) the superior: Sat, Chit, Ananda; and (ii) the inferior: Body, Life and Mindthis being a reflection or translation or concretisation of the former. We can see also here how the dual principle comes in, the twin godhead or the two gods to which Yajnavalkya refers. The same principle is found in the conception of Ardhanarishwara, Male and Female, Purusha-Prakriti. The Upanishad says 14 yet again that the One original Purusha was not pleased at being alone, so for a companion he created out of himself the original Female. The dual principle signifies creation, the manifesting activity of the Reality. But what is this one and a half to which Yajnavalkya refers? It simply means that the other created out of the one is not a wholly separate, independ ent entity: it is not an integer by itself, as in the Manichean system, but that it is a portion, a fraction of the One. And in the end, in the ultimate analysis, or rather synthesis, there is but one single undivided and indivisible unity. The thousands and hundreds, very often m entioned also in the Rig Veda, are not simply multiplications of the One, a graphic description of its many-sidedness; it indicates also the absolute fullness, the complete completeness (prasya pram) of the Reality. It includes and comprehends all and is a rounded totality, a full circle. The hundred-gated and the thousand-pillared cities of which the anci ent Rishis chanted are formations and embodim ents of consciousness human and divine, are realities whole and entire englobing all the layers and grades of consciousness.
Besides this metaphysics there is also an occult aspect in numerology of which Pythagoras was a well-known adept and in which the Vedic Rishis too seem to take special delight. The multiplication of numbers repres ents in a general way the principle of emanation. The One has divided and subdivided itself, but not in a haphazard way: it is not like the chaotic pulverisation of a piece of stone by hammer-blows. The process of division and subdivision follows a pattern almost as neat and methodical as a genealogical tree. That is to say, the emanations form a hierarchy. At the top, the apex of the pyramid, stands the one supreme Godhead. That Godhead is biune in respect of manifestation the Divine and his creative Power. This two-in-one reality may be considered, according to one view of creation, as dividing into three forms or aspects the well-known Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra of Hindu mythology. These may be termed the first or primary emanations.
--
Man, however, is an epitome of creation. He embraces and incarnates the entire gamut of consciousness and comprises in him all beings from the highest Divinity to the lowest jinn or elf. And yet each human being in his true personality is a lineal descendant of one or other typal aspect or original Personality of the one supreme Reality; and his individual character is all the more pronounced and well-defined the more organised and developed is the being. The psychic being in man is thus a direct desc ent, an immediate emanation along a definite line of devolution of the supreme consciousness. We may now understand and explain easily why one chooses a particular Ishta, an ideal god, what is the drive that pushes one to become a worshipper of Siva or Vishnu or any other deity. It is not any rational understanding, a weighing of pros and cons and then a resultant conclusion that leads one to choose a path of religion or spirituality. It is the soul's natural call to the God, the type of being and consciousness of which it is a spark, from which it has descended, it is the secret affinity the spiritual blood-relation as it were that determines the choice and adherence. And it is this that we name Faith. And the exclusiveness and violence and bitterness which attend such adherence and which go "by the "name of partisanship, sectarianism, fanaticism etc., a;e a deformation in the ignorance on the physico-vital plane of the secret loyalty to one's source and origin. Of course, the pattern or law is not so simple and rigid, but it gives a token or typal pattern. For it must not be forgotten that the supreme source or the original is one and indivisible and in the highest integration consciousness is global and not exclusive. And the human being that attains such a status is not bound or wholly limited to one particular formation: its personality is based on the truth of impersonality. And yet the two can go together: an individual can be impersonal in consciousness and yet personal in becoming and true to type.
The number of gods depends on the level of consciousness on which we stand. On this material plane there are as many gods as there are bodies or individual forms (adhar). And on the supreme height there is only one God without a second. In between there are gradations of types and sub-types whose number and function vary according to the aspect of consciousness that reveals itself.
--
The first boon regards the individual, that is to say, the individual id entity and integrity. It asks for the maintenance of that individuality so that it may be saved from the dissolution that Death brings about. Death, of course, means the dissolution of the body, but it repres ents also dissolution pure and simple. Indeed death is a process which does not stop with the physical phenomenon, but continues even after; for with the body gone, the other elem ents of the individual organism, the vital and the m ental too gradually fall off, fade and dissolve. Nachiketas wishes to secure from Death the safety and preservation of the earthly personality, the particular organisation of mind and vital based upon a recognisable physical frame. That is the first necessity for the aspiring mortalfor, it is said, the body is the first instrum ent for the working out of one's life ideal. But man's true personality, the real individuality lies beyond, beyond the body, beyond the life, beyond the mind, beyond the triple region that Death lords it over. That is the divine world, the Heaven of the immortals, beyond death and beyond sorrow and grief. It is the hearth secreted in the inner heart where burns the Divine Fire, the God of Life Everlasting. And this is the nodus that binds together the threefold status of the manifested existence, the body, the life and the mind. This triplicity is the structure of name and form built out of the bricks of experience, the kiln, as it were, within which burns the Divine Agni, man's true soul. This soul can be reached only when one exceeds the bounds and limitations of the triple cord and experiences one's communion and id entity with all souls and all existence. Agni is the secret divinity within, within the individual and within the world; he is the Imman ent Divine, the cosmic godhead that holds together and marshals all the elem ents and compon ents, all the principles that make up the manifest universe. He it is that has entered into the world and created facets of his own reality in multiple forms: and it is he that lies secret in the human being as the immortal soul through all its adv enture of life and death in the series of incarnations in terrestrial evolution. The adoration and realisation of this Imman ent Divinity, the worship of Agni taught by Yama in the second boon, consists in the triple sacrifice, the triple work, the triple union in the triple status of the physical, the vital and the m ental consciousness, the mastery of which leads one to the other shore, the abode of perennial existence where the human soul enjoys its eternity and unending continuity in cosmic life. Therefore, Agni, the master of the psychic being, is called jtaveds, he who knows the births, all the transmigrations from life to life.
The third boon is the secret of secrets, for it is the knowledge and realisation of Transcendence that is sought here. Beyond the individual lies the universal; is there anything beyond the universal? The release of the individual into the cosmic existence gives him the griefless life eternal: can the cosmos be rolled up and flung into something beyond? What would be the nature of that thing? What is there outside creation, outside manifestation, outside Maya, to use a latter day term? Is there existence or non-existence (utter dissolution or extinctionDeath in his supreme and absolute status)? King Yama did not choose to answer immediately and even endeavoured to dissuade Nachiketas from pursuing the question over which people were confounded, as he said. Evid ently it was a much discussed problem in those days. Buddha was asked the same question and he evaded it, saying that the pragmatic man should attend to practical and immediate realities and not, waste time and energy in discussing things ultimate and beyond that have hardly any relation to the pres ent and the actual.
--
The secularisation of man's vital functions in modem ages has not been a success. It has made him more egoc entric and blatantly hedonistic. From an occult point of view he has in this way subjected himself to the influences of dark and undesirable world-forces, has made an opening, to use an Indian symbolism, for Kali (the Spirit of the Iron Age) to enter into him. The sex-force is an extremely pot ent ag ent, but it is extremely fluid and elusive and uncontrollable. It was for this reason that the anci ents always sought to give it a proper mould, a right contin ent, a fixed and definite channel; the moderns, on the other hand, allow it to run free and play with it recklessly. The result has been, in the life of those born under such circumstances, a growing lack of poise and balance and a corresponding incidence of neuras thenia, hysteria and all abnormal pathological conditions.
Chhandyogya, II, III.
00.04 - The Beautiful in the Upanishads, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The form of a thing can be beautiful; but the formless too has its beauty. Indeed, the beauty of the formless, that is to say, the very sum and substance, the ultimate essence, the soul of beauty that is what suffuses, with in-gathered colour and enthusiasm, the realisation and poetic creation of the Upanishadic seer. All the forms that are scattered abroad in their myriad manifest beauty hold within themselves a secret Beauty and are reflected or projected out of it. This veiled Name of Beauty can be compared to nothing on the phenomenal hemisphere of Nature; it has no adequate image or repres entation below:
na tasya pratimsti
it cannot be defined or figured in the terms of the phenomenal consciousness. In speaking of it, however, the Upanishads invariably and repeatedly refer to two attributes that characterise its fundam ental nature. These two aspects have made such an impression upon the consciousness of the Upanishadic seer that his enthusiasm almost wholly plays about them and is c entred on them. When he contemplates or communes with the Supreme Object, these seem to him to be the mark of its au th enticity, the seal of its high status and the reason of all the charm and magic it possesses. The first aspect or attri bute is that of light the brilliance, the solar effulgenceravituly-arpa the bright, clear, shadow less Light of lightsvirajam ubhram jyotim jyoti The second aspect is that of delight, the bliss, the immortality inher ent in that wide effulgencenandarpam amtam yad vibhti.
And what else is the true character, the soul of beauty than light and delight? "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." And a thing of joy is a thing of light. Joy is the radiance rippling over a thing of beauty. Beauty is always radiant: the charm, the loveliness of an object is but the glow of light that it emanates. And it would not be a very incorrect mensuration to measure the degree of beauty by the degree of light radiated. The diamond is not only a thing of value, but a thing of beauty also, because of the conc entrated and undimmed light that it enshrines within itself. A dark, dull and dismal thing, devoid of interest and attraction becomes aesthetically precious and significant as soon as the artist pres ents it in terms of the values of light. The entire art of painting is nothing but the expression of beauty, in and through the modalities of light.
And where there is light, there is cheer and joy. Rasamaya and jyotirmayaare thus the two conjoint characteristics fundam ental to the nature of the ultimate reality. Sometimes these two are named as the 'solar and the lunar aspect. The solar aspect refers obviously to the Light, that is to say, to the Truth; the lunar aspect refers to the rasa (Soma), to Immortality, to Beauty proper,
00.05 - A Vedic Conception of the Poet, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Indeed delight is the third and the supremely intimate elem ent of the poetic personality. Dear and delightful is the poet, dear and delightful his works, priya, priyi His hand is dripping with sweetness,kavir hi madhuhastya.24 The Poet-God shines in his pristine beauty and is showering delight.25 He is filled with utter ecstasy so that he may rise to the very source of the luminous Energy.26? Pure is the Divine Joy and it enters and purifies all forms as it moves to the seat of the Immortals.27Indeed this sparkling Delight is the Poet-Seer and it is that that brings forth the creative word, the utterance of Indra.28
The solar vision of the Poet encompasses in its might the wide Earth and Heaven, fuses them in supreme Delight in the womb of the Truth.29 The Earth is lifted up and given in marriage to Heaven in the home of Truth, for the creation and expression of the Truth in its varied beauty,cru citram.
0.00a - Introduction, #A Garden of Pomegranates - An Outline of the Qabalah, #Israel Regardie, #Occultism
In view of this situation it is doubly reassuring to know that, even in the midst of chaotic concepts and conditions there still remains a door through which man, individually, can enter into a vast store-house of knowledge, knowledge as dependable and immutable as the measured tread of Eternity.
For this reason I am especially pleased to be writing an introduction to a new edition of A Garden of Pomegranates. I feel that never, perhaps, was the need more urg ent for just such a roadmap as the Qabalistic system provides. It should be equally useful to any who chooses to follow it, whether he be Jew, Christian or Buddhist, Deist, Theosophist, agnostic or atheist.
--
Prior to the closing down of the Mandrake Press in London about 1930-31, I was employed as company secretary for a while. Along with several Crowley books, the Mandrake Press published a lovely little monogram by D. H. Lawrence entitled "Apropos of Lady Chatterley's Lover." My own copy accompanied me on my travels for long years. Only rec ently did I discover that it had been lost. I hope that any one of my former pati ents who had borrowed it will see fit to return it to me forthwith.
The last chapter of A Garden deals with the Way of Return. It used almost entirely Crowley's concept of the Path as described in his superb essay "One Star in Sight." In addition to this, I borrowed extensively from Lawrence's Apropos. Somehow, they all fitted together very nicely. In time, all these variegated notes were incorporated into the text without acknowledgm ent, an oversight which I now feel sure would be forgiven, since I was only tw enty-four at the time.
Some modern Nature-worshippers and members of the newly-washed and redeemed witch-cult have complim ented me on this closing chapter which I entitled 'The Ladder." I am pleased about this. For a very long time I was not at all familiar with the topic of witchcraft. I had avoided it entirely, not being attracted to its literature in any way. In fact, I only became slightly conversant with its theme and literature just a few years ago, after reading "The Anatomy of Eve" written by Dr. Leopold Stein, a Jungian analyst. In the middle of his study of four cases, he included a most informative chapter on the subject. This served to stimulate me to wider reading in that area.
In 1932, at the suggestion of Thomas Burke, the novelist, I submitted my manuscript to one of his publishers, Messrs. Constable in London. They were unable to use it, but made some encouraging comm ents and advised me to submit it to Riders. To my delight and surprise, Riders published it, and throughout the years the reaction it has had indicated other stud ents found it also fulfilled their need for a condensed and simplified survey of such a vast subject as the Qabalah.
000 - Humans in Universe, #Synergetics - Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking, #R Buckminster Fuller, #Science
schemers, monarchs, nations, and pirate enterprisers. No others could afford to buy
great ships. With more powerfully engineered ships, humans emerged westward
--
000.106 In 1600 the East India Company was founded as a private enterprise by
Queen Elizabeth and a small group of her intimates. The limited legal liability of
their enterprise was granted by royal decree, and its projects were thereafter
militarily sustained and protected by Great Britain's Royal Navy and colonial
--
officers of the enterprise for their world-wide deploym ent; that college and its
handsome campus are still in operation as of 1979. The British Empire became the
--
could see, smell, touch, and hear. Then at the entry into the 20th c entury the
electron was discovered. A c entury after the time of Malthus much of science
--
overwhelming structural strength has become entirely invisible. Fully 99 perc ent of
humanity has as yet no idea that this increase in tensile capability has come about or
--
It is the most highly classified of military and private enterprise secrets. Industry
now converts the ever-increasing work capacity per pound of materials invested
--
their directly received individual cosmic incomes. So too, private enterprise should
no more meter the energy than it meters the air. But all of Earthians' pres ent power
--
revolution and will enter a new and-lasting epoch of physical success for all. If not,
it will be curtains for all humanity within this c entury.
0.00 - INTRODUCTION, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
SRI RAMAKRISHNA, the God-man of modern India, was born at Kamarpukur. This village in the Hooghly District preserved during the last c entury the idyllic simplicity of the rural areas of Bengal. Situated far from the railway, it was untouched by the glamour of the city. It contained rice-fields, tall palms, royal banyans, a few lakes, and two cremation grounds. South of the village a stream took its leisurely course. A mango orchard dedicated by a neighbouring zemindar to the public use was frequ ented by the boys for their noonday sports. A highway passed through the village to the great temple of Jagannath at Puri, and the villagers, most of whom were farmers and craftsmen, entertained many passing holy men and pilgrims. The dull round of the rural life was broken by lively festivals, the observance of sacred days, religious singing, and other innoc ent pleasures.
About his par ents Sri Ramakrishna once said: "My mother was the personification of rectitude and g entleness. She did not know much about the ways of the world; innoc ent of the art of concealm ent, she would say what was in her mind. People loved her for her open-heartedness. My father, an orthodox brahmin, never accepted gifts from the sudras. He sp ent much of his time in worship and meditation, and in repeating God's name and chanting His glories. Whenever in his daily prayers he invoked the Goddess Gayatri, his chest flushed and tears rolled down his cheeks. He sp ent his leisure hours making garlands for the Family Deity, Raghuvir."
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Gadadhar was seven years old when his father died. This incid ent profoundly affected him. For the first time the boy realized that life on earth was imperman ent. Unobserved by others, he began to slip into the mango orchard or into one of the cremation grounds, and he sp ent hours absorbed in his own thoughts. He also became more helpful to his mother in the discharge of her household duties. He gave more att ention to reading and hearing the religious stories recorded in the Puranas. And he became interested in the wandering monks and pious pilgrims who would stop at Kamarpukur on their way to Puri. These holy men, the custodians of India's spiritual heritage and the living witnesses of the ideal of renunciation of the world and all-absorbing love of God, entertained the little boy with stories from the Hindu epics, stories of saints and prophets, and also stories of their own adv entures. He, on his part, fetched their water and fuel and
served them in various ways. Meanwhile, he was observing their meditation and worship.
--
Unable to resist the persuasion of Mathur Babu, Sri Ramakrishna at last entered the temple service, on condition that Hriday should be asked to assist him. His first duty was to dress and decorate the image of Kali.
One day the priest of the Radhakanta temple accid entally dropped the image of Krishna on the floor, breaking one of its legs. The pundits advised the Rani to install a new image, since the worship of an image with a broken limb was against the scriptural injunctions. But the Rani was fond of the image, and she asked Sri Ramakrishna's opinion. In an abstracted mood, he said: "This solution is ridiculous. If a son-in-law of the Rani broke his leg, would she discard him and put another in his place? Wouldn't she rather arrange for his treatm ent? Why should she not do the same thing in this case too? Let the image be repaired and worshipped as before." It was a simple, straightforward solution and was accepted by the Rani. Sri Ramakrishna himself mended the break. The priest was dismissed for his carelessness, and at Mathur Babu's earnest request Sri Ramakrishna accepted the office of priest in the Radhakanta temple.
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On a certain occasion Mathur Babu stealthily entered the temple to watch the worship. He was profoundly moved by the young priest's devotion and sincerity. He realized that Sri Ramakrishna had transformed the stone image into the living Goddess.
Sri Ramakrishna one day fed a cat with the food that was to be offered to Kali. This was too much for the manager of the temple garden, who considered himself responsible for the proper conduct of the worship. He reported Sri Ramakrishna's insane behaviour to Mathur Babu.
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About this time he began to worship God by assuming the attitude of a servant toward his master. He imitated the mood of Hanuman, the monkey chieftain of the Ramayana, the ideal servant of Rama and traditional model for this self-effacing form of devotion. When he meditated on Hanuman his movem ents and his way of life began to resemble those of a monkey. His eyes became restless. He lived on fruits and roots. With his cloth tied around his waist, a portion of it hanging in the form of a tail, he jumped from place to place instead of walking. And after a short while he was blessed with a vision of Sita, the divine consort of Rama, who entered his body and disappeared there with the words, "I bequeath to you my smile."
Mathur had faith in the sincerity of Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual zeal, but began now to doubt his sanity. He had watched him jumping about like a monkey. One day, when Rani Rasmani was listening to Sri Ramakrishna's singing in the temple, the young priest abruptly turned and slapped her. Appar ently listening to his song, she had actually been thinking of a law-suit. She accepted the punishm ent as though the Divine Mother Herself had imposed it; but Mathur was distressed. He begged Sri Ramakrishna to keep his feelings under control and to heed the conv entions of society. God Himself, he argued, follows laws. God never permitted, for instance, flowers of two colours to grow on the same stalk. The following day Sri Ramakrishna pres ented Mathur Babu with two hibiscus flowers growing on the same stalk, one red and one white.
Mathur and Rani Rasmani began to ascribe the m ental ailm ent of Sri Ramakrishna in part, at least, to his observance of rigid continence. Thinking that a natural life would relax the tension of his nerves, they engineered a plan with two women of ill fame. But as soon as the women entered his room, Sri Ramakrishna beheld in them the manifestation of the Divine Mother of the Universe and w ent into samadhi uttering Her name.
--- HALADHARI
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"Ah!" said Sri Ramakrishna with a smile, "you seem to have quite outbid Vaishnavcharan in this matter. What have you found in me that makes you entertain such an idea?"
Gauri said: "I feel it in my heart and I have the scriptures on my side. I am ready to prove it to anyone who challenges me."
--
According to the Tantra, Sakti is the active creative force in the universe. Siva, the Absolute, is a more or less passive principle. Further, Sakti is as inseparable from Siva as fire's power to burn is from fire itself. Sakti, the Creative Power, contains in Its womb the universe, and therefore is the Divine Mother. All women are Her symbols. Kali is one of Her several forms. The meditation on Kali, the Creative Power, is the c entral discipline of the Tantra. While meditating, the aspirant at first regards himself as one with the Absolute and then thinks that out of that Impersonal Consciousness emerge two entities, namely, his own self and the living form of the Goddess. He then projects the Goddess into the tangible image before him and worships it as the Divine Mother.
Sri Ramakrishna set himself to the task of practising the disciplines of Tantra; and at the bidding of the Divine Mother Herself he accepted the Brahmani as his guru. He performed profound and delicate ceremonies in the Panchavati and under the bel-tree at the northern extremity of the temple compound. He practised all the disciplines of the sixty-four principal Tantra books, and it took him never more than three days to achieve the result promised in any one of them. After the observance of a few preliminary rites, he would be overwhelmed with a strange divine fervour and would go into samadhi, where his mind would dwell in exaltation. Evil ceased to exist for him. The word "carnal" lost its meaning. The whole world and everything in it appeared as the lila, the sport, of Siva and Sakti. He beheld held everywhere manifest the power and beauty of the Mother; the whole world, animate and inanimate, appeared to him as pervaded with Chit, Consciousness, and with Ananda, Bliss.
--
The Brahmani was the enthusiastic teacher and astonished beholder of Sri Ramakrishna in his spiritual progress. She became proud of the achievem ents of her unique pupil. But the pupil himself was not permitted to rest; his destiny beckoned him forward. His Divine Mother would allow him no respite till he had left behind the entire realm of duality with its visions, experiences, and ecstatic dreams. But for the new asc ent the old tender guides would not suffice. The Brahmani, on whom he had depended for, three years, saw her son escape from her to follow the command of a teacher with masculine strength, a sterner mien, a gnarled physique, and a virile voice. The new guru was a wandering monk, the sturdy Totapuri, whom Sri Ramakrishna learnt to address affectionately as Nangta, the "Naked One", because of his total renunciation of all earthly objects and attachm ents, including even a piece of wearing cloth.
Totapuri was the bearer of a philosophy new to Sri Ramakrishna, the non-dualistic Vedanta philosophy, whose conclusions Totapuri had experienced in his own life. This anci ent Hindu system designates the Ultimate Reality as Brahman, also described as Satchidananda, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. Brahman is the only Real Existence. In It there is no time, no space, no causality, no multiplicity. But through maya, Its inscrutable Power, time, space, and causality are created and the One appears to break into the many. The eternal Spirit appears as a manifold of individuals endowed with form and subject to the conditions of time. The Immortal becomes a victim of birth and death. The Changeless undergoes change. The sinless Pure Soul, hypnotized by Its own maya, experiences the joys of heaven and the pains of hell. But these experiences based on the duality of the subject-object relationship are unreal. Even the vision of a Personal God
--
After the departure of Totapuri, Sri Ramakrishna remained for six months in a state of absolute id entity with Brahman. "For six months at a stretch", he said, "I remained in that state from which ordinary men can never return; generally the body falls off, after three weeks, like a sere leaf. I was not conscious of day and night. Flies would enter my mouth and nostrils just as they do a dead body's, but I did not feel them. My hair became matted with dust."
His body would not have survived but for the kindly att ention of a monk who happened to be at Dakshineswar at that time and who somehow realized that for the good of humanity Sri Ramakrishna's body must be preserved. He tried various means, even physical violence, to recall the fleeing soul to the prison-house of the body, and during the resultant fleeting mom ents of consciousness he would push a few morsels of food down Sri Ramakrishna's throat. Pres ently Sri Ramakrishna received the command of the Divine Mother to remain on the threshold of relative consciousness. Soon there-after after he was afflicted with a serious attack of dys entery. Day and night the pain tortured him, and his mind gradually came down to the physical plane.
--
Eight years later, some time in November 1874, Sri Ramakrishna was seized with an irresistible desire to learn the truth of the Christian religion. He began to listen to readings from the Bible, by Sambhu Charan Mallick, a g entleman of Calcutta and a devotee of the Master. Sri Ramakrishna became fascinated by the life and teachings of Jesus. One day he was seated in the parlour of Jadu Mallick's garden house (This expression is used throughout to translate the Bengali word denoting a rich man's country house set in a garden.) at Dakshineswar, when his eyes became fixed on a painting of the Madonna and Child. Int ently watching it, he became gradually overwhelmed with divine emotion. The figures in the picture took on life, and the rays of light emanating from them entered his soul. The effect of this experience was stronger than that of the vision of Mohammed. In dismay he cried out, "O Mother! What are You doing to me?" And, breaking through the barriers of creed and religion, he entered a new realm of ecstasy. Christ possessed his soul. For three days he did not set foot in the Kali temple. On the fourth day, in the afternoon, as he was walking in the Panchavati, he saw coming toward him a person with beautiful large eyes, serene countenance, and fair skin. As the two faced each other, a voice rang out in the depths of Sri Ramakrishna's soul: "Behold the Christ, who shed His heart's blood for the redemption of the world, who suffered a sea of anguish for love of men. It is He, the Master Yogi, who is in eternal union with God. It is Jesus, Love Incarnate." The Son of Man embraced the Son of the Divine Mother and merged in him. Sri Ramakrishna krishna realized his id entity with Christ, as he had already realized his id entity with Kali, Rama, Hanuman, Radha, Krishna, Brahman, and Mohammed. The Master w ent into samadhi and communed with the Brahman with attributes. Thus he experienced the truth that Christianity, too, was a path leading to God-Consciousness. Till the last mom ent of his life he believed that Christ was an Incarnation of God. But Christ, for him, was not the only Incarnation; there were others — Buddha, for instance, and Krishna.
--- ATTITUDE TOWARD DIFFER ent RELIGIONS
--
The party entered holy Benares by boat along the Ganges. When Sri Ramakrishna's eyes fell on this city of Siva, where had accumulated for ages the devotion and piety of countless worshippers, he saw it to be made of gold, as the scriptures declare. He was visibly moved. During his stay in the city he treated every particle of its earth with utmost respect. At the Manikarnika Ghat, the great cremation ground of the city, he actually saw Siva, with ash-covered body and tawny matted hair, serenely approaching each funeral pyre and breathing into the ears of the corpses the mantra of liberation; and then the Divine Mother removing from the dead their bonds. Thus he realized the significance of the scriptural statem ent that anyone dying in Benares attains salvation through the grace of Siva. He paid a visit to Trailanga Swami, the celebrated monk, whom he later declared to be a real paramahamsa, a veritable image of Siva.
Sri Ramakrishna visited Allahabad, at the confluence of the Ganges and the Jamuna, and then proceeded to Vrindavan and Mathura, hallowed by the legends, songs, and dramas about Krishna and the gopis. Here he had numerous visions and his heart overflowed with divine emotion. He wept and said: "O Krishna! Everything here is as it was in the olden days. You alone are abs ent." He visited the great woman saint, Gangamayi, regarded by Vaishnava devotees as the reincarnation of an intimate attendant of Radha. She was sixty years old and had frequ ent trances. She spoke of Sri Ramakrishna as an incarnation of Radha. With great difficulty he was persuaded to leave her.
--
In 1870 the Master w ent on a pilgrimage to Nadia, the birth-place of Sri Chaitanya. As the boat by which he travelled approached the sand-bank close to Nadia, Sri Ramakrishna had a vision of the "two brothers", Sri Chaitanya and his companion Nityananda, "bright as molten gold" and with haloes, rushing to greet him with uplifted hands. "There they come! There they come!" he cried. They entered his body and he w ent into a deep trance.
--- RELATION WITH HIS WIFE
--
The real organizer of the Samaj was Devendranath Tagore (1817-1905), the father of the poet Rabindranath. His physical and spiritual beauty, aristocratic aloofness, penetrating intellect, and poetic sensibility made him the foremost leader of the educated Bengalis. These addressed him by the respectful epithet of Maharshi, the "Great Seer". The Maharshi was a Sanskrit scholar and, unlike Raja Rammohan Roy, drew his inspiration entirely from the Upanishads. He was an implacable enemy of image worship ship and also fought to stop the infiltration of Christian ideas into the Samaj. He gave the movem ent its faith and ritual. Under his influence the Brahmo Samaj professed One Self-exist ent Supreme Being who had created the universe out of nothing, the God of Truth, Infinite Wisdom, Goodness, and Power, the Eternal and Omnipot ent, the One without a Second. Man should love Him and do His will, believe in Him and worship Him, and thus merit salvation in the world to come.
By far the ablest leader of the Brahmo movem ent was Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884). Unlike Raja Rammohan Roy and Devendranath Tagore, Keshab was born of a middle-class Bengali family and had been brought up in an English school. He did not know Sanskrit and very soon broke away from the popular Hindu religion. Even at an early age he came under the spell of Christ and professed to have experienced the special favour of John the Baptist, Christ, and St. Paul. When he strove to introduce Christ to the Brahmo Samaj, a rupture became inevitable with Devendranath. In 1868 Keshab broke with the older leader and founded the Brahmo Samaj of India, Devendra retaining leadership of the first Brahmo Samaj, now called the Adi Samaj.
Keshab possessed a complex nature. When passing through a great moral crisis, he sp ent much of his time in solitude and felt that he heard the voice of God, When a devotional form of worship was introduced into the Brahmo Samaj, he sp ent hours in singing kirtan with his followers. He visited England land in 1870 and impressed the English people with his musical voice, his simple English, and his spiritual fervour. He was entertained by Queen Victoria. Returning to India, he founded c entres of the Brahmo Samaj in various parts of the country. Not unlike a professor of comparative religion in a European university, he began to discover, about the time of his first contact with Sri Ramakrishna, the harmony of religions. He became sympathetic toward the Hindu gods and goddesses, explaining them in a liberal fashion. Further, he believed that he was called by God to dictate to the world God's newly revealed law, the New Dispensation, the Navavidhan.
In 1878 a schism divided Keshab's Samaj. Some of his influ ential followers accused him of infringing the Brahmo principles by marrying his daughter to a wealthy man before she had attained the marriageable age approved by the Samaj. This group seceded and established the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, Keshab remaining the leader of the Navavidhan. Keshab now began to be drawn more and more toward the Christ ideal, though under the influence of Sri Ramakrishna his devotion to the Divine Mother also deepened. His m ental oscillation between Christ and the Divine Mother of Hinduism found no position of rest. In Bengal and some other parts of India the Brahmo movem ent took the form of unitarian Christianity, scoffed at Hindu rituals, and preached a crusade against image worship. Influenced by Western culture, it declared the supremacy of reason, advocated the ideals of the French Revolution, abolished the caste-system among its own members, stood for the emancipation of women, agitated for the abolition of early marriage, sanctioned the remarriage of widows, and encouraged various educational and social-reform movem ents. The immediate effect of the Brahmo movem ent in Bengal was the checking of the proselytizing activities of the Christian missionaries. It also raised Indian culture in the estimation of its English masters. But it was an intellectual and eclectic religious ferm ent born of the necessity of the time. Unlike Hinduism, it was not founded on the deep inner experiences of sages and prophets. Its influence was confined to a comparatively few educated men and women of the country, and the vast masses of the Hindus remained outside it. It sounded monotonously only one of the notes in the rich gamut of the Eternal Religion of the Hindus.
--
Sri Ramakrishna, dressed in a red-bordered dhoti, one end of which was carelessly thrown over his left shoulder, came to Jaygopal's garden house accompanied by Hriday. No one took notice of the unost entatious visitor. Finally the Master said to Keshab, "People tell me you have seen God; so I have come to hear from you about God." A magnific ent conversation followed. The Master sang a thrilling song about Kali and forthwith w ent into samadhi. When Hriday uttered the sacred "Om" in his ears, he gradually came back to consciousness of the world, his face still radiating a divine brilliance. Keshab and his followers were amazed. The contrast between Sri Ramakrishna and the Brahmo devotees was very interesting. There sat this small man, thin and extremely delicate. His eyes were illumined with an inner light. Good humour gleamed in his eyes and lurked in the corners of his mouth. His speech was Bengali of a homely kind with a slight, delightful stammer, and his words held men enthralled by their wealth of spiritual experience, their inexhaustible store of simile and metaphor, their power of observation, their bright and subtle humour, their wonderful catholicity, their ceaseless flow of wisdom. And around him now were the sophisticated men of Bengal, the best products of Western education, with Keshab, the idol of young Bengal, as their leader.
Keshab's sincerity was enough for Sri Ramakrishna. Henceforth the two saw each other frequ ently, either at Dakshineswar or at the temple of the Brahmo Samaj. Whenever the Master was in the temple at the time of divine service, Keshab would request him to speak to the congregation. And Keshab would visit the saint, in his turn, with offerings of flowers and fruits.
--
Shivanath, one day, was greatly impressed by the Master's utter simplicity and abhorrence of praise. He was seated with Sri Ramakrishna in the latter's room when several rich men of Calcutta arrived. The Master left the room for a few minutes. In the mean time Hriday, his nephew, began to describe his samadhi to the visitors. The last few words caught the Master's ear as he entered the room. He said to Hriday: "What a mean-spirited fellow you must be to extol me thus before these rich men! You have seen their costly apparel and their gold watches and chains, and your object is to get from them as much money as you can. What do I care about what they think of me? (Turning to the g entlemen) No, my friends, what he has told you about me is not true. It was not love of God that made me absorbed in God and indiffer ent to external life. I became positively insane for some time. The sadhus who frequ ented this temple told me to practise many things. I tried to follow them, and the consequence was that my austerities drove me to insanity." This is a quotation from one of Shivanath's books. He took the Master's words literally and failed to see their real import.
Shivanath vehem ently criticized the Master for his other-worldly attitude toward his wife. He writes: "Ramakrishna was practically separated from his wife, who lived in her village home. One day when I was complaining to some friends about the virtual widowhood of his wife, he drew me to one side and whispered in my ear: 'Why do you complain? It is no longer possible; it is all dead and gone.' Another day as I was inveighing against this part of his teaching, and also declaring that our program of work in the Brahmo Samaj includes women, that ours is a social and domestic religion, and that we want to give education and social liberty to women, the saint became very much excited, as was his way when anything against his settled conviction was asserted — a trait we so much liked in him — and exclaimed, 'Go, thou fool, go and perish in the pit that your women will dig for you.' Then he glared at me and said: 'What does a gardener do with a young plant? Does he not surround it with a fence, to protect it from goats and cattle? And when the young plant has grown up into a tree and it can no longer be injured by cattle, does he not remove the fence and let the tree grow freely?' I replied, 'Yes, that is the custom with gardeners.' Then he remarked, 'Do the same in your spiritual life; become strong, be full-grown; then you may seek them.' To which I replied, 'I don't agree with you in thinking that women's work is like that of cattle, destructive; they are our associates and helpers in our spiritual struggles and social progress' — a view with which he could not agree, and he marked his diss ent by shaking his head. Then referring to the lateness of the hour he jocularly remarked, 'It is time for you to depart; take care, do not be late; otherwise your woman will not admit you into her room.' This evoked hearty laughter."
--
. But see that you don't become intoxicated; you must not reel and your thoughts must not wander. At first you will feel ordinary excitem ent, but soon you will experience spiritual exaltation." Gradually Surendra's entire life was changed. The Master designated him as one of those commissioned by the Divine Mother to defray a great part of his expenses. Surendra's purse was always open for the Master's comfort.
--- KEDAR
--
Harish, a young man in afflu ent circumstances, renounced his family and took shelter with the Master, who loved him for his sincerity, singleness of purpose, and quiet nature. He sp ent his leisure time in prayer and meditation, turning a deaf ear to the entreaties and threats of his relatives. Referring to his undisturbed peace of mind, the Master would say: "Real men are dead to the world though living. Look at Harish. He is an example." When one day the Master asked him to be a little kind to his wife, Harish said: "You must excuse me on this point. This is not the place to show kindness. If I try to be sympathetic to her, there is a possibility of my forgetting the ideal and becoming entangled in the world."
--- BHAVANATH
--
Sri Ramakrishna also became acquainted with a number of people whose scholarship or wealth entitled them everywhere to respect. He had met, a few years before, Devendranath Tagore, famous all over Bengal for his wealth, scholarship, saintly character, and social position. But the Master found him disappointing; for, whereas Sri Ramakrishna expected of a saint complete renunciation of the world, Devendranath combined with his saintliness a life of enjoym ent. Sri Ramakrishna met the great poet Michael Madhusudan, who had embraced Christianity "for the sake of his stomach". To him the Master could not impart instruction, for the Divine Mother "pressed his tongue". In addition he met Maharaja Jatindra Mohan Tagore, a titled aristocrat of Bengal; Kristodas Pal, the editor, social reformer, and patriot; Iswar Vidyasagar, the noted philanthropist and educator; Pundit Shashadhar, a great champion of Hindu orthodoxy; Aswini Kumar Dutta, a headmaster, moralist, and leader of Indian Nationalism; and Bankim Chatterji, a deputy magistrate, novelist, and essayist, and one of the fashioners of modern Bengali prose. Sri Ramakrishna was not the man to be dazzled by outward show, glory, or eloquence. A pundit without discrimination he regarded as a mere straw. He would search people's hearts for the light of God, and if that was missing he would have nothing to do with them.
--- KRISTODAS PAL
--
In a state of m ental conflict and torture of soul, Narendra came to Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar. He was then eighteen years of age and had been in college two years. He entered the Master's room accompanied by some light-hearted friends. At Sri Ramakrishna's request he sang a few songs, pouring his whole soul into them, and the Master w ent into samadhi. A few minutes later Sri Ramakrishna suddenly left his seat, took Narendra by the hand, and led him to the screened verandah north of his room. They were alone. Addressing Narendra most tenderly, as if he were a friend of long acquaintance, the Master said: "Ah! You have come very late. Why have you been so unkind as to make me wait all these days? My ears are tired of hearing the futile words of worldly men. Oh, how I have longed to pour my spirit into the heart of someone fitted to receive my message!" He talked thus, sobbing all the time. Then, standing before Narendra with folded hands, he addressed him as Narayana, born on earth to remove the misery of humanity. Grasping Narendra's hand, he asked him to come again, alone, and very soon. Narendra was startled. "What is this I have come to see?" he said to himself. "He must be stark mad. Why, I am the son of Viswanath Dutta. How dare he speak this way to me?"
When they returned to the room and Narendra heard the Master speaking to others, he was surprised to find in his words an inner logic, a striking sincerity, and a convincing proof of his spiritual nature. In answer to Narendra's question, "Sir, have you seen God?" the Master said: "Yes, I have seen God. I have seen Him more tangibly than I see you. I have talked to Him more intimately than I am talking to you." Continuing, the Master said: "But, my child, who wants to see God? People shed jugs of tears for money, wife, and children. But if they would weep for God for only one day they would surely see Him." Narendra was amazed. These words he could not doubt. This was the first time he had ever heard a man saying that he had seen God. But he could not reconcile these words of the Master with the scene that had taken place on the verandah only a few minutes before. He concluded that Sri Ramakrishna was a monomaniac, and returned home rather puzzled in mind.
--
But during his third visit Narendra fared no better. This time, at the Master's touch, he lost consciousness entirely. While he was still in that state, Sri Ramakrishna questioned him concerning his spiritual anteced ents and whereabouts, his mission in this world, and the duration of his mortal life. The answers confirmed what the Master himself had known and inferred. Among other things, he came to know that Narendra was a sage who had already attained perfection, and that the day he learnt his real nature he would give up his body in yoga, by an act of will.
A few more meetings completely removed from Narendra's mind the last traces of the notion that Sri Ramakrishna might be a monomaniac or wily hypnotist. His integrity, purity, renunciation, and unselfishness were beyond question. But Narendra could not accept a man, an imperfect mortal, as his guru. As a member of the Brahmo Samaj, he could not believe that a human intermediary was necessary between man and God. Moreover, he openly laughed at Sri Ramakrishna's visions as hallucinations. Yet in the secret chamber of his heart he bore a great love for the Master.
--
One day, soon after, Narendra requested Sri Ramakrishna to pray to the Divine Mother to remove his poverty. Sri Ramakrishna bade him pray to Her himself, for She would certainly listen to his prayer. Narendra entered the shrine of Kali. As he stood before the image of the Mother, he beheld Her as a living Goddess, ready to give wisdom and liberation. Unable to ask Her for petty worldly things, he prayed only for knowledge and renunciation, love and liberation. The Master rebuked him for his failure to ask the Divine Mother to remove his poverty and s ent him back to the temple. But Narendra, standing in Her presence, again forgot the purpose of his coming. Thrice he w ent to the temple at the bidding of the Master, and thrice he returned, having forgotten in Her presence why he had come. He was wondering about it when it suddenly flashed in his mind that this was all the work of Sri Ramakrishna; so now he asked the Master himself to remove his poverty, and was assured that his family would not lack simple food and clothing.
This was a very rich and significant experience for Narendra. It taught him that Sakti, the Divine Power, cannot be ignored in the world and that in the relative plane the need of worshipping a Personal God is imperative. Sri Ramakrishna was overjoyed with the conversion. The next day, sitting almost on Narendra's lap, he said to a devotee, pointing first to himself, then to Narendra: "I see I am this, and again that. Really I feel no difference. A stick floating in the Ganges seems to divide the water; But in reality the water is one. Do you see my point? Well, whatever is, is the Mother — isn't that so?" In later years Narendra would say: "Sri Ramakrishna was the only person who, from the time he met me, believed in me uniformly throughout. Even my mother and brothers did not. It was his unwavering trust and love for me that bound me to him for ever. He alone knew how to love. Worldly people, only make a show of love for selfish ends.
--
Sri Ramakrishna employed a ruse to bring Jogindra to him. As soon as the disciple entered the room, the Master rushed forward to meet the young man. Catching hold of the disciple's hand, he said: "What if you have married? Haven't I too married? What is there to be afraid of in that?" Touching his own chest he said: "If this [meaning himself] is propitious, then even a hundred thousand marriages cannot injure you. If you desire to lead a householder's life, then bring your wife here one day, and I shall see that she becomes a real companion in your spiritual progress. But if you want to lead a monastic life, then I shall eat up your attachm ent to the world." Jogin was dumbfounded at these words. He received new strength, and his spirit of renunciation was re-established.
--- SASHI AND SARAT
Sashi and Sarat were two cousins who came from a pious brahmin family of Calcutta. At an early age they had joined the Brahmo Samaj and had come under the influence of Keshab Sen. The Master said to them at their first meeting: "If bricks and tiles are burnt after the trade-mark has been stamped on them, they retain the mark for ever. Similarly, man should be stamped with God before entering the world. Then he will not become attached to worldliness." Fully aware of the future course of their life, he asked them not to marry. The Master asked Sashi whether he believed in God with form or in God without form. Sashi replied that he was not even sure about the existence of God; so he could not speak one way or the other. This frank answer very much pleased the Master.
Sarat's soul longed for the all-embracing realization of the Godhead. When the Master inquired whether there was any particular form of God he wished to see, the boy replied that he would like to see God in all the living beings of the world. "But", the Master demurred, "that is the last word in realization. One cannot have it at the very outset." Sarat stated calmly: "I won't be satisfied with anything short of that. I shall trudge on along the path till I attain that blessed state." Sri Ramakrishna was very much pleased.
--
One early morning at three o'clock, about a year later, Gopal Ma was about to finish her daily devotions, when she was startled to find Sri Ramakrishna sitting on her left, with his right hand clenched, like the hand of the image of Gopala. She was amazed and caught hold of the hand, whereupon the figure vanished and in its place appeared the real Gopala, her Ideal Deity. She cried aloud with joy. Gopala begged her for butter. She pleaded her poverty and gave Him some dry coconut candies. Gopala, sat on her lap, snatched away her rosary, jumped on her shoulders, and moved all about the room. As soon as the day broke she hastened to Dakshineswar like an insane woman. Of course Gopala accompanied her, resting His head on her shoulder. She clearly saw His tiny ruddy feet hanging over her breast. She entered Sri Ramakrishna's room. The Master had fallen into samadhi. Like a child, he sat on her lap, and she began to feed him with butter, cream, and other delicacies. After some time he regained consciousness and returned to his bed. But the mind of Gopala's Mother was still roaming in another plane. She was steeped in bliss. She saw Gopala frequ ently entering the Master's body and again coming out of it. When she returned to her hut, still in a dazed condition, Gopala accompanied her.
She sp ent about two months in uninterrupted communion with God, the Baby Gopala never leaving her for a mom ent. Then the intensity of her vision was lessened; had it not been, her body would have perished. The Master spoke highly of her exalted spiritual condition and said that such vision of God was a rare thing for ordinary mortals. The fun-loving Master one day confronted the critical Narendranath with this simple-minded woman. No two could have pres ented a more striking contrast. The Master knew of Narendra's lofty contempt for all visions, and he asked the old lady to narrate her experiences to Narendra. With great hesitation she told him her story. Now and then she interrupted her maternal chatter to ask Narendra: "My son, I am a poor ignorant woman. I don't understand anything. You are so learned. Now tell me if these visions of Gopala are true." As Narendra listened to the story he was profoundly moved. He said, "Yes, mother, they are quite true." Behind his cynicism Narendra, too, possessed a heart full of love and tenderness.
--
In 1881 Hriday was dismissed from service in the Kali temple, for an act of indiscretion, and was ordered by the authorities never again to enter the garden. In a way the hand of the Divine Mother may be seen even in this. Having taken care of Sri Ramakrishna during the stormy days of his spiritual discipline, Hriday had come naturally to consider himself the sole guardian of his uncle. None could approach the Master without his knowledge. And he would be extremely jealous if Sri Ramakrishna paid att ention to anyone else. Hriday's removal made it possible for the real devotees of the Master to approach him freely and live with him in the temple garden.
During the week-ends the householders, enjoying a respite from their office duties, visited the Master. The meetings on Sunday afternoons were of the nature of little festivals. Refreshm ents were often served. Professional musicians now and then sang devotional songs. The Master and the devotees sang and danced, Sri Ramakrishna frequ ently going into ecstatic moods. The happy memory of such a Sunday would linger long in the minds of the devotees. Those whom the Master wanted for special instruction he would ask to visit him on Tuesdays and Saturdays. These days were particularly auspicious for the worship of Kali.
The young disciples destined to be monks, Sri Ramakrishna invited on week-days, when the householders were not pres ent. The training of the householders and of the future monks had to proceed along entirely differ ent lines. Since M. generally visited the Master on week-ends, the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna does not contain much m ention of the future monastic disciples.
Finally, there was a handful of fortunate disciples, householders as well as youngsters, who were privileged to spend nights with the Master in his room. They would see him get up early in the morning and walk up and down the room, singing in his sweet voice and tenderly communing with the Mother.
--
The Holy Mother — so Sarada Devi had come to be affectionately known by Sri Ramakrishna's devotees — was brought from Dakshineswar to look after the general cooking and to prepare the special diet of the pati ent. The dwelling space being extremely limited, she had to adapt herself to cramped conditions. At three o'clock in the morning she would finish her bath in the Ganges and then enter a small covered place on the roof, where she sp ent the whole day cooking and praying. After eleven at night, when the visitors w ent away, she would come down to her small bedroom on the first floor to enjoy a few hours' sleep. Thus she sp ent three months, working hard, sleeping little, and praying constantly for the Master's recovery.
At Syampukur the devotees led an intense life. Their attendance on the Master was in itself a form of spiritual discipline. His mind was constantly soaring to an exalted plane of consciousness. Now and then they would catch the contagion of his spiritual fervour. They sought to divine the meaning of this illness of the Master, whom most of them had accepted as an Incarnation of God. One group, headed by Girish with his robust optimism and great power of imagination, believed that the illness was a mere pretext to serve a deeper purpose. The Master had willed his illness in order to bring the devotees together and promote solidarity among them. As soon as this purpose was served, he would himself get rid of the disease. A second group thought that the Divine Mother, in whose hand the Master was an instrum ent, had brought about this illness to serve Her own mysterious ends. But the young rationalists, led by Narendra, refused to ascribe a
--
One day when Narendra was on the ground floor, meditating, the Master was lying awake in his bed upstairs. In the depths of his meditation Narendra felt as though a lamp were burning at the back of his head. Suddenly he lost consciousness. It was the yearned-for, all-effacing experience of nirvikalpa samadhi, when the embodied soul realizes its unity with the Absolute. After a very long time he regained partial consciousness but was unable to find his body. He could see only his head. "Where is my body?" he cried. The elder Gopal entered the room and said, "Why, it is here, Naren!" But Narendra could not find it. Gopal, frightened, ran upstairs to the Master. Sri Ramakrishna only said: "Let him stay that way for a time. He has worried me long enough."
After another long period Narendra regained full consciousness. Bathed in peace, he w ent to the Master, who said: "Now the Mother has shown you everything. But this revelation will remain under lock and key, and I shall keep the key. When you have accomplished the Mother's work you will find the treasure again."
0.00 - The Book of Lies Text, #The Book of Lies, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
March 21st, 1992 e.v. key entry by Frater E.A.D.N., San Diego,
California.
--
my luck', by doing something entirely contrary to
my inclinations. In the midst of my disgust, the
--
instantly flashed upon me. The entire symbolism not
only of Free Masonry but of many other traditions
--
This also must be destroyed before thou enterest
into The Silence.
--
"Aum" repres ents the entering into the silence, as
will observed upon pronouncing it.
--
He thereupon enters into his Samadhi, and he piles
contradiction upon contradiction, and thus a higher
--
is exhausted, and, with the word Amen, he enters the
supreme state.
--
Be not entangled in the universal lie, O child of
Truth!
--
creates. This Ego is entirely divine.
Zoroaster describes God as having the head of the Hawk, and
--
of the Cakes of Light. In the Sign of the enterer he
reaches West across the Altar, and cries:
--
I entered in with woe; with mirth
I now go forth, and with thanksgiving,
--
that the symbols are interchanged, enthusiasm being
repres ented as the sinuous snake, scepticism as the
--
entered Appr entice Mason.
Paragraph 3 refers to the Ceremony of Exaltation
--
It would be possible to interpret this chapter in its entirety as an adverse
criticism of metaphysics as such, and this is doubtless one of its many sub-
0.00 - THE GOSPEL PREFACE, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
"M", as the author modestly styles himself, was peculiarly qualified for his task. To a rever ent love for his master, to a deep and experi ential knowledge of that master's teaching, he added a prodigious memory for the small happenings of each day and a happy gift for recording them in an interesting and realistic way. Making good use of his natural gifts and of the circumstances in which he found himself, "M" produced a book unique, so far as my knowledge goes, in the literature of hagiography. No other saint has had so able and indefatigable a Boswell. Never have the small ev ents of a contemplative's daily life been described with such a wealth of intimate detail. Never have the casual and unstudied utterances of a great religious teacher been set down with so minute a fidelity. To Western readers, it is true, this fidelity and this wealth of detail are sometimes a trifle disconcerting; for the social, religious and intellectual frames of reference within which Sri Ramakrishna did his thinking and expressed his feelings were entirely Indian. But after the first few surprises and bewilderm ents, we begin to find something peculiarly stimulating and instructive about the very strangeness and, to our eyes, the ecc entricity of the man revealed to us in "M's" narrative. What a scholastic philosopher would call the "accid ents" of Ramakrishna's life were intensely Hindu and therefore, so far as we in the West are concerned, unfamiliar and hard to understand; its "essence", however, was intensely mystical and therefore universal. To read through these conversations in which mystical doctrine alternates with an unfamiliar kind of humour, and where discussions of the oddest aspects of Hindu mythology give place to the most profound and subtle utterances about the nature of Ultimate Reality, is in itself a liberal, education in humility, tolerance and suspense of judgm ent. We must be grateful to the translator for his excell ent version of a book so curious and delightful as a biographical docum ent, so precious, at the same time, for what it teaches us of the life of the spirit.
--------------------
--
In the preparation of this manuscript I have received ungrudging help from several friends. Miss Margaret Woodrow Wilson and Mr.Joseph Campbell have worked hard in editing my translation. Mrs.Elizabeth Davidson has typed, more than once, the entire manuscript and rendered other valuable help. Mr.Aldous Huxley has laid me under a debt of gratitude by writing the Foreword. I sincerely thank them all.
In the spiritual firmam ent Sri Ramakrishna is a waxing cresc ent. Within one hundred years of his birth and fifty years of his death his message has spread across land and sea. Romain Rolland has described him as the fulfilm ent of the spiritual aspirations of the three hundred millions of Hindus for the last two thousand years. Mahatma Gandhi has written: "His life enables us to see God face to face. . . . Ramakrishna was a living embodim ent of godliness." He is being recognized as a compeer of Krishna, Buddha, and Christ.
--
He was one of the earliest of the disciples to visit Kamarpukur, the birthplace of the Master, in the latter's lifetime itself; for he wished to practise contemplation on the Master's early life in its true original setting. His experience there is described as follows by Swami Nityatmananda: "By the grace of the Master, he saw the entire Kamarpukur as a holy place bathed in an effulg ent Light. Trees and creepers, beasts and birds and men all were made of effulgence. So he prostrated to all on the road. He saw a torn cat, which appeared to him luminous with the Light of Consciousness. Immediately he fell to the ground and saluted it" (M The Apostle and the Evangelist by Swami Nityatmananda vol. I. P. 40.) He had similar experience in Dakshineswar also. At the instance of the Master he also visited Puri, and in the words of Swami Nityatmananda, "with indomitable courage, M. embraced the image of Jagannath out of season."
The life of Sdhan and holy association that he started on at the feet of the Master, he continued all through his life. He has for this reason been most appropriately described as a Grihastha-Sannysi (householder-Sannysin). Though he was forbidden by the Master to become a Sannysin, his reverence for the Sannysa ideal was whole-hearted and was without any reservation. So after Sri Ramakrishna's passing away, while several of the Master's householder devotees considered the young Sannysin disciples of the Master as inexperienced and inconsequ ential, M. stood by them with the firm faith that the Master's life and message were going to be perpetuated only through them. Swami Vivekananda wrote from America in a letter to the inmates of the Math: "When Sri Thkur (Master) left the body, every one gave us up as a few unripe urchins. But M. and a few others did not leave us in the lurch. We cannot repay our debt to them." (Swami Raghavananda's article on M. in Prabuddha Bharata vol. XXX P. 442.)
--
In addition to this instinct for diary-keeping, M. had great endowm ents contri buting to success in this line. Writes Swami Nityatmananda who lived in close association with M., in his book entitled M - The Apostle and Evangelist: "M.'s prodigious memory combined with his extraordinary power of imagination completely annihilated the distance of time and place for him. Even after the lapse of half a c entury he could always visualise vividly, scenes from the life of Sri Ramakrishna. Superb too was his power to portray pictures by words."
Besides the prompting of his inher ent instinct, the main inducem ent for M. to keep this diary of his experiences at Dakshineswar was his desire to provide himself with a means for living in holy company at all times. Being a school teacher, he could be with the Master only on Sundays and other holidays, and it was on his diary that he depended for 'holy company' on other days. The devotional scriptures like the Bhagavata say that holy company is the first and most important means for the generation and growth of devotion. For, in such company man could hear talks on spiritual matters and listen to the glorification of Divine attri butes, charged with the fervour and conviction emanating from the hearts of great lovers of God. Such company is therefore the one certain means through which Sraddha (Faith), Rati (attachm ent to God) and Bhakti (loving devotion) are generated. The diary of his visits to Dakshineswar provided M. with material for re-living, through reading and contemplation, the holy company he had had earlier, even on days when he was not able to visit Dakshineswar. The wealth of details and the vivid description of men and things in the midst of which the sublime conversations are set, provide excell ent material to re-live those experiences for any one with imaginative powers. It was observed by M.'s disciples and admirers that in later life also whenever he was free or alone, he would be pouring over his diary, transporting himself on the wings of imagination to the glorious days he sp ent at the feet of the Master.
--
The two pamphlets in English entitled the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna appeared in October and November 1897. They drew the spontaneous acclamation of Swami Vivekananda, who wrote on 24th November of that year from Dehra Dun to M.:"Many many thanks for your second leaflet. It is indeed wonderful. The move is quite original, and never was the life of a Great Teacher brought before the public untarnished by the writer's mind, as you are doing. The language also is beyond all praise, so fresh, so pointed, and withal so plain and easy. I cannot express in adequate terms how I have enjoyed them. I am really in a transport when I read them. Strange, isn't it? Our Teacher and Lord was so original, and each one of us will have to be original or nothing.
I now understand why none of us attempted His life before. It has been reserved for you, this great work. He is with you evid ently." ( Vednta Kesari Vol. XIX P. 141. Also given in the first edition of the Gospel published from Ramakrishna Math, Madras in 1911.)
And Swamiji added a post script to the letter: "Socratic dialogues are Plato all over you are entirely hidden. Moreover, the dramatic part is infinitely beautiful. Everybody likes it here or in the West." Indeed, in order to be unknown, Mahendranath had used the pen-name M., under which the book has been appearing till now. But so great a book cannot remain obscure for long, nor can its author remain unrecognised by the large public in these modern times. M. and his book came to be widely known very soon and to meet the growing demand, a full-sized book, Vol. I of the Gospel, translated by the author himself, was published in 1907 by the Brahmavadin Office, Madras. A second edition of it, revised by the author, was brought out by the Ramakrishna Math, Madras in December 1911, and subsequ ently a second part, containing new chapters from the original Bengali, was published by the same Math in 1922. The full English translation of the Gospel by Swami Nikhilananda appeared first in 1942.
In Bengali the book is published in five volumes, the first part having appeared in 1902
0.00 - The Wellspring of Reality, #Synergetics - Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking, #R Buckminster Fuller, #Science
The supposed location of the threshold between animate and inanimate was methodically narrowed down by experim ental science until it was confined specifically within the domain of virology. Virologists have been too busy, for instance, with their DNA-RNA genetic code isolatings, to find time to see the synergetic significance to society of the fact that they have found that no physical threshold does in fact exist between animate and inanimate. The possibility of its existence vanished because the supposedly unique physical qualities of both animate and inanimate have persisted right across yesterday's supposed threshold in both directions to permeate one another's-previously perceived to be exclusive- domains. Subsequ ently, what was animate has become foggier and foggier, and what is inanimate clearer and clearer. All organisms consist physically and in entirety of inher ently inanimate atoms. The inanimate alone is not only omnipres ent but is alone experim entally demonstrable. Belated news of the elimination of this threshold must be interpreted to mean that whatever life may be, it has not been isolated and thereby id entified as residual in the biological cell, as had been supposed by the false assumption that there was a separate physical phenomenoncalled animate within which life existed. No life per se has been isolated. The threshold between animate and inanimate has vanished. Those chemists who are preoccupied in synthesizing the particular atomically structured molecules id entified as the prime constitu ents of humanly employed organisms will, even if they are chemically successful, be as remote from creating life as are automobile manufacturers from creating the human drivers of their automobiles. Only the physical connections and developm ent complexes of distinctly "nonlife" atoms into molecules, into cells, into animals, has been and will be discovered. The genetic coding of the design controls of organic systems offers no more explanation of life than did the specifications of the designs of the telephone system's apparatus and operation explain the nature of the life that communicates weightlessly to life over the only physically ponderable telephone system. Whatever else life may be, we know it is weightless. At the mom ent of death, no weight is lost. All the chemicals, including the chemist's life ingredi ents, are pres ent, but life has vanished. The physical is inher ently entropic, giving off energy in ever more disorderly ways. The metaphysical is anti entropic, methodically marshalling energy. Life is anti entropic.
It is spontaneously inquisitive. It sorts out and endeavors to understand.
--
Science's self-assumed responsibility has been self-limited to disclosure to society only of the separate, supposedly physical (because separately weighable) atomic compon ent isolations data. Synergetic integrity would require the sci entists to announce that in reality what had been id entified heretofore as physical is entirely metaphysical-because synergetically weightless. Metaphysical has been science's designation for all weightless phenomena such as thought. But science has made no experim ental finding of any phenomena that can be described as a solid, or as continuous, or as a straight surface plane, or as a straight line, or as infinite anything. We are now synergetically forced to conclude that all phenomena are metaphysical; wherefore, as many have long suspected-like it or not-life is but a dream.Science has found no up or down directions of Universe, yet sci entists are personally so ill-coordinated that they all still personally and sensorially see "solids" going up or down-as, for instance, they see the Sun "going down." Sensorially disconnected from their theoretically evolved information, sci entists discern no need on their part to suggest any educational reforms to correct the misconceiving that science has tolerated for half a millennium.
Society depends upon its sci entists for just such educational reform guidance.
--
Children freed of the ignorantly founded educational traditions and exposed only to their spontaneously summoned, computer-stored and -distributed outflow of reliable-opinion-purged, experim entally verified data, shall indeed lead society to its happy egress from all misinformedly conceived, fearfully and legally imposed, and physically enforced customs of yesterday. They can lead all humanity into omnisuccessful survival as well as entrance into an utterly new era of human experience in an as-yet and ever-will-be fundam entally mysterious Universe.
And whence will come the wealth with which we may undertake to lead world man into his new and validly hopeful life? From the wealth of the minds of world man-whence comes all wealth. Only mind can discover how to do so much with so little as forever to be able to sustain and physically satisfy all humanity.
0.01f - FOREWARD, #The Phenomenon of Man, #Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, #Christianity
concealed beneath a veil of immobility the entirely new in-
sinuating itself into the heart of the monotonous repetition of the
--
Man is unable to see himself entirely unrelated to mankind,
neither is he able to see mankind unrelated to life, nor life un-
0.01 - Letters from the Mother to Her Son, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
whole being, m ental, psychic, vital and physical, enters into a
complete state of rest made of perfect peace, absolute silence
--
awake; or else I enter into an internal activity of one or more
states of being, an activity which constitutes the occult work
--
meet the almost formidable expenses that it entails (our annual
budget averages one "lakh" of rupees, which at the pres ent rate
--
want to dampen their enthusiasm. I had entitled it "The C entral
Thought", but they found this a little too philosophical, so it has
0.01 - Life and Yoga, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
the profoundest reason of its being in that general truth and that unceasing aim of Nature which it repres ents, and find by virtue of this new self-knowledge and self-appreciation its own recovered and larger synthesis. Reorganising itself, it will enter more easily and powerfully into the reorganised life of the race which its processes claim to lead within into the most secret penetralia and upward to the highest altitudes of existence and personality.
In the right view both of life and of Yoga all life is either consciously or subconsciously a Yoga. For we mean by this term a methodised effort towards self-perfection by the expression of the secret pot entialities lat ent in the being and - highest condition of victory in that effort - a union of the human individual with the universal and transcend ent Existence we see partially expressed in man and in the Cosmos. But all life, when we look behind its appearances, is a vast Yoga of Nature who attempts in the conscious and the subconscious to realise her perfection in an ever-increasing expression of her yet unrealised pot entialities and to unite herself with her own divine reality. In man, her thinker, she for the first time upon this Earth devises selfconscious means and willed arrangem ents of activity by which this great purpose may be more swiftly and puissantly attained.
--
God. Therefore we see in India that a sharp incompatibility has been created between life in the world and spiritual growth and perfection, and although the tradition and ideal of a victorious harmony between the inner attraction and the outer demand remains, it is little or else very imperfectly exemplified. In fact, when a man turns his vision and energy inward and enters on the path of Yoga, he is popularly supposed to be lost inevitably to the great stream of our collective existence and the secular effort of humanity. So strongly has the idea prevailed, so much has it been emphasised by preval ent philosophies and religions that to escape from life is now commonly considered as not only the necessary condition, but the general object of Yoga. No synthesis of Yoga can be satisfying which does not, in its aim, reunite God and Nature in a liberated and perfected human life or, in its method, not only permit but favour the harmony of our inner and outer activities and experiences in the divine consummation of both. For man is precisely that term and symbol of a higher Existence descended into the material world in which it is possible for the lower to transfigure itself and put on the nature of the higher and the higher to reveal itself in the forms of the lower. To avoid the life which is given him for the realisation of that possibility, can never be either the indispensable condition or the whole and ultimate object of his supreme endeavour or of his most powerful means of self-fulfilm ent. It can only be a temporary necessity under certain conditions or a specialised extreme effort imposed on the individual so as to prepare a greater general possibility for the race. The true and full object and utility of Yoga can only be accomplished when the conscious
Yoga in man becomes, like the subconscious Yoga in Nature, outwardly conterminous with life itself and we can once more, looking out both on the path and the achievem ent, say in a more perfect and luminous sense: "All life is Yoga."
0.02 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(Regarding the misuse of "gris entretien", maintenance
grey paint) A stool used by the Mother has been painted
with "gris entretien". I had informed the stores not to
issue gris entretien except for Sri Aurobindo's room.
But who is responsible for having given the paint? Was not the
fact that the "gris entretien" must be kept for the doors and windows in Sri Aurobindo's room only, told to those in charge?(!)
Why was my stool at all painted with gris entretien? I did
not ask for the grey paint as far as I remember.
--
formations are autonomous entities. That is why, once they are
made, the conscious will loses nearly all control over them unless
--
A year of silence and expectation... let us find, O Lord, our entire
support in Thy Grace alone.
--
Let the light of a luminous consciousness enter into you;
widen yourself into that vast consciousness so that every shadow
0.02 - The Three Steps of Nature, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Matter, which, however the too ethereally spiritual may despise it, is our foundation and the first condition of all our energies and realisations, and the Life-Energy which is our means of existence in a material body and the basis there even of our m ental and spiritual activities. She has successfully achieved a certain stability of her constant material movem ent which is at once suffici ently steady and durable and suffici ently pliable and mutable to provide a fit dwelling-place and instrum ent for the progressively manifesting god in humanity. This is what is meant by the fable in the Aitareya Upanishad which tells us that the gods rejected the animal forms successively offered to them by the Divine Self and only when man was produced, cried out, "This indeed is perfectly made," and cons ented to enter in. She has effected also a working compromise between the inertia of matter and the active Life that lives in and feeds on it, by which not only is vital existence sustained, but the fullest developm ents of m entality are rendered possible. This equilibrium constitutes the basic status of Nature in man and is termed in the language of Yoga his gross body composed
The Three Steps of Nature
--
If the bodily life is what Nature has firmly evolved for us as her base and first instrum ent, it is our m ental life that she is evolving as her immediate next aim and superior instrum ent. This in her ordinary exaltations is the lofty preoccupying thought in her; this, except in her periods of exhaustion and recoil into a reposeful and recuperating obscurity, is her constant pursuit wherever she can get free from the trammels of her first vital and physical realisations. For here in man we have a distinction which is of the utmost importance. He has in him not a single m entality, but a double and a triple, the mind material and nervous, the pure intellectual mind which liberates itself from the illusions of the body and the senses, and a divine mind above intellect which in its turn liberates itself from the imperfect modes of the logically discriminative and imaginative reason. Mind in man is first emmeshed in the life of the body, where in the plant it is entirely involved and in animals always imprisoned. It accepts this life as not only the first but the whole condition of its activities and serves its needs as if they were the entire aim of existence. But the bodily life in man is a base, not the aim, his first condition and not his last determinant. In the just idea of the anci ents man is ess entially the thinker, the Manu, the m ental being who leads the life and the body,3 not the animal who is led by them. The true human existence, therefore, only begins when the intellectual m entality emerges out of the material and we begin more and more to live in the mind independ ent of the nervous and physical obsession and in the measure of that liberty are able to accept rightly and rightly to use the life of the body. For freedom and not a skilful subjection is the true means of mastery. A free, not a compulsory acceptance of the conditions, the enlarged and sublimated conditions of our physical being, is the high human ideal. But beyond this intellectual m entality is the divine.
The m ental life thus evolving in man is not, indeed, a
--
And when the preliminary conditions are satisfied, when the great endeavour has found its base, what will be the nature of that farther possibility which the activities of the intellectual life must serve? If Mind is indeed Nature's highest term, then the entire developm ent of the rational and imaginative intellect and the harmonious satisfaction of the emotions and sensibilities must be to themselves suffici ent. But if, on the contrary, man is more than a reasoning and emotional animal, if beyond that which is being evolved, there is something that has to be evolved, then it may well be that the fullness of the m ental life, the suppleness, flexibility and wide capacity of the intellect, the ordered richness of emotion and sensibility may be only a passage towards the developm ent of a higher life and of more powerful faculties which are yet to manifest and to take possession of the lower instrum ent, just as mind itself has so taken possession of the body that the physical being no longer lives only for its own satisfaction but provides the foundation and the materials for a superior activity.
The assertion of a higher than the m ental life is the whole foundation of Indian philosophy and its acquisition and organisation is the veritable object served by the methods of Yoga.
0.03 - III - The Evening Sittings, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
After Sri Aurobindo had come to Pondicherry from Chandernagore, he entered upon an intense period of Sadhana and for a few months he refused to receive anyone. After a time he used to sit down to talk in the evening and on some days tried automatic writing. Yogic Sadhan, a small book, was the result. In 1913 Sri Aurobindo moved to Rue Franois Martin No. 41 where he used to receive visitors at fixed times. This was generally in the morning between 9 and 10.30.
But, over and above newcomers, some local people and the few inmates of the house used to have informal talks with Sri Aurobindo in the evening. In the beginning the inmates used to go out for playing football, and during their absence known local individuals would come in and wait for Sri Aurobindo. Afterwards regular meditations began at about 4 p.m. in which practically all the inmates participated. After the meditation all of the members and those who were permitted shared in the evening sitting. This was a very informal gathering depending entirely upon Sri Aurobindo's leisure.
When Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved to No. 9 Rue de la Marine in 1922 the same routine of informal evening sittings after meditation continued. I came to Pondicherry for Sadhana in the beginning of 1923. I kept notes of the important talks I had with the four or five disciples who were already there. Besides, I used to take detailed notes of the Evening Talks which we all had with the Master. They were not intended by him to be noted down. I took them down because of the importance I felt about everything connected with him, no matter how insignificant to the outer view. I also felt that everything he did would acquire for those who would come to know his mission a very great significance.
0.03 - Letters to My little smile, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
where happiness can no longer enter. Your great strength was
your smile; because you knew how to smile at life, you also
--
tell you and remember that your work depends almost entirely
on your eyes. If your eyes were to get spoiled in any way, it
0.03 - The Threefold Life, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This mixing with life may, however, be pursued for the sake of the individual mind and with an entire indifference to the forms of the material existence or the uplifting of the race. This indifference is seen at its highest in the Epicurean discipline and is not entirely abs ent from the Stoic; and even altruism does the works of compassion more often for its own sake than for the sake of the world it helps. But this too is a limited fulfilm ent. The progressive mind is seen at its noblest when it strives to elevate the whole race to its own level whether by sowing broadcast the image of its own thought and fulfilm ent or by changing the material life of the race into fresh forms, religious, intellectual, social or political, intended to repres ent more nearly that ideal of truth, beauty, justice, righteousness with which the man's own soul is illumined. Failure in such a field matters little; for the mere attempt is dynamic and creative. The struggle of Mind to elevate life is the promise and condition of the conquest of life by that which is higher even than Mind.
That highest thing, the spiritual existence, is concerned with what is eternal but not therefore entirely aloof from the transi ent. For the spiritual man the mind's dream of perfect beauty is realised in an eternal love, beauty and delight that has no dependence and is equal behind all objective appearances; its dream of perfect Truth in the supreme, self-exist ent, self-appar ent and eternal Verity which never varies, but explains and is the secret of all variations and the goal of all progress; its dream of perfect action in the omnipot ent and self-guiding Law that is inher ent for ever in all things and translates itself here in the rhythm of the worlds. What is fugitive vision or constant effort of creation in the brilliant Self is an eternally existing Reality in the Self that knows2 and is the Lord.
But if it is often difficult for the m ental life to accommodate itself to the dully resistant material activity, how much more difficult must it seem for the spiritual existence to live on in a world that appears full not of the Truth but of every lie and illusion, not of Love and Beauty but of an encompassing discord and ugliness, not of the Law of Truth but of victorious selfishness and sin? Therefore the spiritual life tends easily in the saint and Sannyasin to withdraw from the material existence and reject it either wholly and physically or in the spirit. It sees this world as the kingdom of evil or of ignorance and the eternal and divine either in a far-off heaven or beyond where there is no world and no life. It separates itself inwardly, if not also physically, from the world's impurities; it asserts the spiritual reality in a spotless isolation. This withdrawal renders an invaluable service to the material life itself by forcing it to regard and even to bow down to something that is the direct negation of its own petty ideals, sordid cares and egoistic self-cont ent.
0.04 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This correspondence was written entirely in English.
Tomorrow is a holiday. The day after, these repairs can be made
0.04 - The Systems of Yoga, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This is the first step only. Afterwards, the ordinary activities of the mind and sense must be entirely quieted in order that the soul may be free to ascend to higher states of consciousness and acquire the foundation for a perfect freedom and self-mastery.
But Rajayoga does not forget that the disabilities of the ordinary mind proceed largely from its subjection to the reactions of the nervous system and the body. It adopts therefore from the Hathayogic system its devices of asana and pran.ayama, but reduces their multiple and elaborate forms in each case to one simplest and most directly effective process suffici ent for its own immediate object. Thus it gets rid of the Hathayogic complexity and cumbrousness while it utilises the swift and powerful efficacy of its methods for the control of the body and the vital functions and for the awakening of that internal dynamism, full of a lat ent supernormal faculty, typified in Yogic terminology by the kun.d.alin, the coiled and sleeping serp ent of Energy within. This done, the system proceeds to the perfect quieting of the restless mind and its elevation to a higher plane through conc entration of m ental force by the successive stages which lead to the utmost inner conc entration or ingathered state of the consciousness which is called Samadhi.
By Samadhi, in which the mind acquires the capacity of withdrawing from its limited waking activities into freer and higher states of consciousness, Rajayoga serves a double purpose. It compasses a pure m ental action liberated from the confusions of the outer consciousness and passes thence to the higher supra-m ental planes on which the individual soul enters into its true spiritual existence. But also it acquires the capacity of that free and conc entrated energising of consciousness on
The Systems of Yoga
--
Rajayoga aimed not only at Swarajya, self-rule or subjective empire, the entire control by the subjective consciousness of all the states and activities proper to its own domain, but included
Samrajya as well, outward empire, the control by the subjective consciousness of its outer activities and environm ent.
--
But this exclusive consummation is not the sole or inevitable result of the Path of Knowledge. For, followed more largely and with a less individual aim, the method of Knowledge may lead to an active conquest of the cosmic existence for the Divine no less than to a transcendence. The point of this departure is the realisation of the supreme Self not only in one's own being but in all beings and, finally, the realisation of even the phenomenal aspects of the world as a play of the divine consciousness and not something entirely alien to its true nature. And on the basis of this realisation a yet further enlargem ent is possible, the conversion of all forms of knowledge, however mundane, into activities of the divine consciousness utilisable for the perception of the one and unique Object of knowledge both in itself and through the play of its forms and symbols. Such a method might well lead to the elevation of the whole range of human intellect
The Systems of Yoga
--
Lord, with our human life as its final stage, pursued through the differ ent phases of self-concealm ent and self-revelation. The principle of Bhakti Yoga is to utilise all the normal relations of human life into which emotion enters and apply them no longer to transi ent worldly relations, but to the joy of the All-Loving, the All-Beautiful and the All-Blissful. Worship and meditation are used only for the preparation and increase of intensity of the divine relationship. And this Yoga is catholic in its use of all emotional relations, so that even enmity and opposition to God, considered as an intense, impati ent and perverse form of Love, is conceived as a possible means of realisation and salvation.
This path, too, as ordinarily practised, leads away from worldexistence to an absorption, of another kind than the Monist's, in the Transcend ent and Supra-cosmic.
--
Love and Joy and a full acceptance of the works of That which is known; dedicated Works to the entire love of the Master of the Sacrifice and the deepest knowledge of His ways and His being. It is in this triple path that we come most readily to the absolute knowledge, love and service of the One in all beings and in the entire cosmic manifestation.
0.05 - Letters to a Child, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Yes, my dear child, it is entirely possible and since you want
it sincerely, it will come to be so. You will feel yourself always
--
relationships well. You must choose to enter into relation only
with those whose contact does not veil my presence. This is the
--
you are sure to find me there if you enter into it deeply enough.
Love from your mother.
--
life and all the discipline it entails - in short, the search for and
realisation of the Divine - must be the most important thing to
--
a way of opening yourself which allows the light to enter into
the obscurity and illumine it.
0.05 - The Synthesis of the Systems, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This was the aim which we set before ourselves at first when we entered upon our comparative examination of the methods of
Nature and the methods of Yoga and we now return to it with the possibility of hazarding some definite solution.
--
The method we have to pursue, then, is to put our whole conscious being into relation and contact with the Divine and to call Him in to transform our entire being into His. Thus in a sense
God Himself, the real Person in us, becomes the sadhaka of the sadhana1 as well as the Master of the Yoga by whom the lower personality is used as the c entre of a divine transfiguration and the instrum ent of its own perfection. In effect, the pressure of the
Tapas, the force of consciousness in us dwelling in the Idea of the divine Nature upon that which we are in our entirety, produces
Sadhana, the practice by which perfection, siddhi, is attained; sadhaka, the Yogin who seeks by that practice the siddhi.
--
In psychological fact this method translates itself into the progressive surrender of the ego with its whole field and all its apparatus to the Beyond-ego with its vast and incalculable but always inevitable workings. Certainly, this is no short cut or easy sadhana. It requires a colossal faith, an absolute courage and above all an unflinching patience. For it implies three stages of which only the last can be wholly blissful or rapid, - the attempt of the ego to enter into contact with the Divine, the wide, full and therefore laborious preparation of the whole lower Nature by the divine working to receive and become the higher Nature, and the ev entual transformation. In fact, however, the divine
Strength, often unobserved and behind the veil, substitutes itself for our weakness and supports us through all our failings of faith, courage and patience. It "makes the blind to see and the lame to stride over the hills." The intellect becomes aware of a Law that benefic ently insists and a succour that upholds; the heart speaks of a Master of all things and Friend of man or a universal Mother who upholds through all stumblings. Therefore this path is at once the most difficult imaginable and yet, in comparison with the magnitude of its effort and object, the most easy and sure of all.
--
As the Jivanmukta, who is entirely free even without dissolution of the bodily life in a final Samadhi.
The Synthesis of the Systems
--
The widest synthesis of perfection possible to thought is the sole effort entirely worthy of those whose dedicated vision perceives that God dwells concealed in humanity.
0.06 - INTRODUCTION, #Dark Night of the Soul, #Saint John of the Cross, #Christianity
based upon this incapacity. Souls 'begin to enter' this dark night
when God draws them forth from the state of beginnerswhich is the
--
passing, upon certain imperfections found in those who are about to enter it and
which it removes by the process of purgation. Such travellers are still untried
--
where the soul may abandon discursive meditation and enter the contemplation
which belongs to loving and simple faith.
--
Spiritual persons, we are told, do not enter the second night immediately
after leaving the first; on the contrary, they generally pass a long time, even years,
0.06 - Letters to a Young Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
its state of blind and falsifying ignorance and enters into a state
of truth, and when that reversal, that conversion takes place,
--
we must entrust ourselves, give ourselves without reserve, and it
is He who will make of us what He wants in His infinite wisdom.
--
give yourself entirely and without egoism while washing dishes
or serving a meal brings you much nearer the Divine than
--
peace and let it enter into the cells of the body; then the suggestion of awkwardness can no longer have any effect.
Mother, X has broken a porcelain bowl.
--
If I could detach myself entirely from this outer world,
if I could be quite alone, I would master this depression
--
various ways. It is only gradually that it enters their mind.
0.07 - DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL, #Dark Night of the Soul, #Saint John of the Cross, #Christianity
Begins the exposition of the stanzas which treat of the way and manner which the soul follows upon the road of the union of love with God. Before we enter upon the exposition of these stanzas, it is well to understand here that the soul that utters them is now in the state of perfection, which is the union of love with God, having already passed through severe trials and straits, by means of spiritual exercise in the narrow way of eternal life whereof Our Saviour speaks in the Gospel, along which way the soul ordinarily passes in order to reach this high and happy union with God. Since this road (as the Lord Himself says likewise) is so strait, and since there are so few that enter by it,19 the soul considers it a great happiness and good chance to have passed along it to the said perfection of love, as it sings in this first stanza, calling this strait road with full propriety 'dark night,' as will be explained hereafter in the lines of the said stanza. The soul, then, rejoicing at having passed along this narrow road whence so many blessings have come to it, speaks after this manner.
BOOK THE FIRST
0.07 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This correspondence was written entirely in English.
A prayer:
"O Lord, awaken my entire being that it may be for Thee
the needed instrum ent, the perfect servant."
--
troubles and difficulties; it is entire self-giving and consecration
to the Divine.
0.08 - Letters to a Young Captain, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
indispensable starting-point. Through interiorisation and conc entration one has to enter into conscious contact with one's
psychic being. This psychic being always has an influence on the
--
the Divine, one has to rise above thought and enter into the
psychic consciousness, the consciousness of the soul, or into the
--
You have written that to enter into conscious contact
with one's psychic being, one must "aspire to know it
--
it easier when I think of you, try to enter into contact
with you and open to you.
--
Control during sleep is entirely possible and it is progressive
if you persist in the effort. You begin by remembering your
--
How can one enter into the feelings of a piece of
music played by someone else?
--
Aurobindo so that they may enter into our consciousness
instead of being understood only by the mind?
--
the force contained in what one reads enter deep inside. This
force, received in calm and silence, will do its work of illumining
--
on the photo, one enters into relation with that special aspect or
differ ent personality which the photo has captured and whose
--
there is entirely inactive and hidden. The history of the earth
begins with this inconscience.
0.09 - Letters to a Young Teacher, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
psychic being and allow oneself to be entirely guided by it - in
other words, to rise above ordinary humanity, free oneself from
--
of many differ ent entities which are sometimes even contrary to
one another: some want the spiritual life, others are attached to
01.01 - A Yoga of the Art of Life, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
When Sri Aurobindo said, Our Yoga is not for ourselves but for humanity, many heaved a sigh of relief and thought that the great soul was after all not entirely lost to the world, his was not one more name added to the long list of Sannyasins that India has been producing age after age without much profit either to herself or to the human society (or even perhaps to their own selves). People understood his Yoga to be a modern one, dedicated to the service of humanity. If service to humanity was not the very sum and substance of his spirituality, it was, at least, the fruitful end and consummation. His Yoga was a sort of art to explore and harness certain unseen powers that can better and ameliorate human life in a more successful way than mere rational sci entific methods can hope to do.
Sri Aurobindo saw that the very core of his teaching was being missed by this common interpretation of his saying. So he changed his words and said, Our Yoga is not for humanity but for the Divine. But I am afraid this change of front, this volte-face, as it seemed, was not welcomed in many quarters; for thereby all hope of having him back for the work of the country or the world appeared to be totally lost and he came to be looked upon again as an irrevocable metaphysical dreamer, aloof from physical things and barren, even like the Immutable Brahman.
--
Here also one must guard against certain misconceptions that are likely to occur. The transformation of human life does not necessarily mean that the entire humanity will be changed into a race of gods or divine beings; it means the evolution or appearance on earth of a superior type of humanity, even as man evolved out of animality as a superior type of animality, not that the entire animal kingdom was changed into humanity.
As regards the possibility of such a consummation,Sri Aurobindo says it is not a possibility but an inevitabilityone must remember that the force that will bring about the result and is already at work is not any individual human power, however great it may be, but the Divine himself, it is the Divine's own Shakti that is labouring for the destined end.
--
It is not my purpose here to enter into details as to the exact meaning of the desc ent, how it happens and what are its lines of activity and the results brought about. For it is indeed an actual desc ent that happens: the Divine Light leans down first into the mind and begins its purificatory work therealthough it is always the inner heart which first recognises the Divine Presence and gives its ass ent to the Divine action for the mind, the higher mind that is to say, is the summit of the ordinary human consciousness and receives more easily and readily the Radiances that descend. From the Mind the Light filters into the denser regions of the emotions and desires, of life activity and vital dynamism; finally, it gets into brute Matter itself, the hard and obscure rock of the physical body, for that too has to be illumined and made the very form and figure of the Light supernal. The Divine in his descending Grace is the Master-Architect who is building slowly and surely the many-chambered and many-storeyed edifice that is human nature and human life into the mould of the Divine Truth in its perfect play and supreme expression. But this is a matter which can be closely considered when one is already well within the mystery of the path and has acquired the elem entary ess entials of an initiate.
Another question that troubles and perplexes the ordinary human mind is as to the time when the thing will be done. Is it now or a millennium hence or at some astronomical distance in future, like the cooling of the sun, as someone has suggested for an analogy. In view of the magnitude of the work one might with reason say that the whole eternity is there before us, and a c entury or even a millennium should not be grudged to such a labour for it is nothing less than an undoing of untold millenniums in the past and the building of a far-flung futurity. However, as we have said, since it is the Divine's own work and since Yoga means a conc entrated and involved process of action, effectuating in a minute what would perhaps take years to accomplish in the natural course, one can expect the work to be done sooner rather than later. Indeed, the ideal is one of here and nowhere upon this earth of material existence and now in this life, in this very bodynot hereafter or elsewhere. How long exactly that will mean, depends on many factors, but a few decades on this side or the other do not matter very much.
01.01 - Sri Aurobindo - The Age of Sri Aurobindo, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The highest ideal, the very highest which God and Nature and Man have in view, is not and cannot be kept in cold storage: it is being worked out even here and now, and it has to be worked out here and now. The ideal of the Life Divine embodies a c entral truth of existence, and however difficult or chimerical it may appear to be to the normal mind, it is the preoccupation of the inner being of manall other ways or attempts of curing human ills are faint echoes, masks, diversions of this secret urge at the source and heart of things. That ideal is a norm and a force that is ever dynamic and has become doubly so since it has entered the earth atmosphere and the waking human consciousness and is labouring there. It is always safer and wiser to recognise that fact, to help in the realisation of that truth and be profited by it.
***
01.01 - The One Thing Needful, #The Integral Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
It is the lesson of life that always in this world everything fails a man - only the Divine does not fail him, if he turns entirely towards the Divine. It is not because there is something bad in you that blows fall on you - blows fall on all human beings because they are full of desire for things that cannot last and they lose them or, even if they get, it brings disappointm ent and cannot satisfy them. To turn to the Divine is the only truth in life.
To find the Divine is indeed the first reason for seeking the spiritual Truth and the spiritual life; it is the one thing indispensable and all the resit is nothing without it. The Divine once found, to manifest Him, - that is, first of all to transform one's own limited consciousness into the Divine Consciousness, to live in the infinite Peace, Light, Love, Strength, Bliss, to become that in one's ess ential nature and, as a consequence, to be its vessel, channel, instrum ent in one's active nature. To bring into activity the principle of oneness on the material plane or to work for humanity is a m ental mistranslation of the Truth - these things cannot be the first true object of spiritual seeking. We must find the Self, the Divine, then only can we know what is the work the Self or the Divine demands from us. Until then our life and action can only be a help or a means towards finding the Divine and it ought not to have any other purpose. As we grow in inner consciousness, or as the spiritual Truth of the Divine grows in us, our life and action must indeed more and more flow from that, be one with that. But to decide beforeh and by our limited m ental conceptions what they must be is to hamper the growth of the spiritual Truth within. As that grows we shall feel the Divine Light and Truth, the Divine Power and Force, the Divine Purity and Peace working within us, dealing with our actions as well as our consciousness, making use of them to reshape us into the Divine Image, removing the dross, substituting the pure Gold of the Spirit. Only when the Divine Presence is there in us always and the consciousness transformed, can we have the right to say that we are ready to manifest the Divine on the material plane. To hold up a m ental ideal or principle and impose that on the inner working brings the danger of limiting ourselves to a m ental realisation or of impeding or even falsifying by a halfway formation the truth growth into the full communion and union with the Divine and the free and intimate outflowing of His will in our life. This is a mistake of ori entation to which the mind of today is especially prone. It is far better to approach the Divine for the Peace or Light or Bliss that the realisation of Him gives than to bring in these minor things which can divert us from the one thing needful. The divinisation of the material life also as well as the inner life is part of what we see as the Divine Plan, but it can only be fulfilled by an ourflowing of the inner realisation, something that grows from within outwards, not by the working out of a m ental principle.
01.01 - The Symbol Dawn, #Savitri, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
There lurked an unremembering entity,
Survivor of a slain and buried past
01.02 - Natures Own Yoga, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
For, till now Mind has been the last term of the evolutionary consciousness Mind as developed in man is the highest instrum ent built up and organised by Nature through which the self-conscious being can express itself. That is why the Buddha said: Mind is the first of all principles, Mind is the highest of all principles: indeed Mind is the constitu ent of all principlesmana puvvangam dhamm1. The consciousness beyond mind has not yet been made a pat ent and dynamic elem ent in the life upon earth; it has been glimpsed or entered into in varying degrees and modes by saints and seers; it has cast its derivative illuminations in the creative activities of poets and artists, in the finer and nobler urges of heroes and great men of action. But the utmost that has been achieved, the summit reached in that direction, as exampled in spiritual disciplines, involves a withdrawal from the evolutionary cycle, a merging and an absorption into the static status that is altogether beyond it, that lies, as it were, at the other extreme the Spirit in itself, Atman, Brahman, Sachchidananda, Nirvana, the One without a second, the Zero without a first.
The first contact that one has with this static supra-reality is through the higher ranges of the mind: a direct and closer communion is established through a plane which is just above the mind the Overmind, as Sri Aurobindo calls it. The Overmind dissolves or transcends the ego-consciousness which limits the being to its individualised formation bounded by an outward and narrow frame or sheath of mind, life and body; it reveals the universal Self and Spirit, the cosmic godhead and its myriad forces throwing up myriad forms; the world-existence there appears as a play of ever-shifting veils upon the face of one ineffable reality, as a mysterious cycle of perpetual creation and destructionit is the overwhelming vision given by Sri Krishna to Arjuna in the Gita. At the same time, the initial and most intense experience which this cosmic consciousness brings is the extreme relativity, contingency and transitoriness of the whole flux, and a necessity seems logically and psychologically imperative to escape into the abiding substratum, the ineffable Absoluteness.
--
The Upanishads speak of a solar and a lunar Path in the spiritual consciousness. Perhaps they have some reference to these two linesone through the Mayic consciousness of the Overmind enters into the static Bliss, ecstatic Nihil, and the other mounts still farther to the solar status which is a mass, a sea, an infinity of that light and ecstasy but which can at the same time express and embody itself as the creative Truth-consciousness (srya svitr ).
In the Supermind things exist in their perfect spiritual reality; each is consciously the divine reality in its transcend ent essence, its cosmic extension, its, spiritual individuality; the diversity of a manifested existence is there, but the mutually exclusive separativeness has not yet arisen. The ego, the knot of separativity, appears at a later and lower stage of involution; what is here is indivisible nexus of individualising c entres of the one eternal truth of being. Where Supermind and Overmind meet, one can see the multiple godheads, each distinct in his own truth and beauty and power and yet all together forming the one supreme consciousness infinitely composite and inalienably integral. But stepping back into Supermind one sees something moreOneness gathering into itself all diversity, not destroying it, but annulling and forbidding the separative consciousness that is the beginning of Ignorance. The first shadow of the Illusory Consciousness, the initial possibility of the movem ent of Ignorance comes in when the supram ental light enters the penumbra of the m ental sphere. The movem ent of Supermind is the movem ent of light without obscurity, straight, unwavering, unswerving, absolute. The Force here contains and holds in their oneness of Reality the manifold but not separated lines of ess ential and unalloyed truth: its march is the inevitable progression of each one assured truth entering into and upholding every other and therefore its creation, play or action admits of no trial or stumble or groping or deviation; for each truth rests on all others and on that which harmonises them all and does not act as a Power diverging from and even competing with other Powers of being. In the Overmind commences the play of diverg ent possibilities the simple, direct, united and absolute certainties of the supram ental consciousness retire, as it were, a step behind and begin to work themselves out through the interaction first of separately individualised and then of contrary and contradictory forces. In the Overmind there is a conscious underlying Unity but yet each Power, Truth, Aspect of that Unity is encouraged to work out its possibilities as if it were suffici ent to itself and the others are used by it for its own enhancem ent until in the denser and darker reaches below Overmind this turns out a thing of blind conflict and battle and, as it would appear, of chance survival. Creation or manifestation originally means the concretisation or devolution of the powers of Conscious Being into a play of united diversity; but on the line which ends in Matter it enters into more and more obscure forms and forces and finally the virtual eclipse of the supreme light of the Divine Consciousness. Creation as it descends' towards the Ignorance becomes an involution of the Spirit through Mind and Life into Matter; evolution is a movem ent backward, a return journey from Matter towards the Spirit: it is the unravelling, the gradual disclosure and deliverance of the Spirit, the ascension and revelation of the involved consciousness through a series of awakeningsMatter awakening into Life, Life awakening into Mind and Mind now seeking to awaken into something beyond the Mind, into a power of conscious Spirit.
The appar ent or actual result of the movem ent of Nescienceof Involutionhas been an increasing negation of the Spirit, but its hidden purpose is ultimately to embody the Spirit in Matter, to express here below in cosmic Time-Space the splendours of the timeless Reality. The material body came into existence bringing with it inevitably, as it seemed, mortality; it appeared even to be fashioned out of mortality, in order that in this very frame and field of mortality, Immortality, the eternal Spirit Consciousness which is the secret truth and reality in Time itself as well as behind it, might be established and that the Divine might be possessed, or rather, possess itself not in one unvarying mode of the static consciousness, as it does even now behind the cosmic play, but in the play itself and in the multiple mode of the terrestrial existence.
--
The first decisive step in Yoga is taken when one becomes conscious of the psychic being, or, looked at from the other side, when the psychic being comes forward and takes possession of the external being, begins to initiate and influence the movem ents of the mind and life and body and gradually free them from the ordinary round of ignorant nature. The awakening of the psychic being means, as I have said, not only a deepening and heightening of the consciousness and its release from the obscurity and limitation of the inferior Prakriti, confined to the lower threefold status, into what is behind and beyond; it means also a return of the deeper and higher consciousness upon the lower hemisphere and a consequ ent purification and illumination and regeneration of the latter. Finally, when the psychic being is in full self-possession and power, it can be the vehicle of the direct supram ental consciousness which will then be able to act freely and absolutely for the entire transformation of the external nature, its transfiguration into a perfect body of the Truth-consciousness in a word, its divinisation.
This then is the supreme secret, not the renunciation and annulm ent, but the transformation of the ordinary human nature : first of all, its psychicisation, that is to say, making it move and live and be in communion and id entification with the light of the psychic being, and, secondly, through the soul and the ensouled mind and life and body, to open out into the supram ental consciousness and let it come down here below and work and achieve.
--
It is also to be noted that as mind is not the last limit of the march of evolution, even so the progress of evolution will not stop with the manifestation and embodim ent of the Supermind. There are other still higher principles beyond and they too presumably await manifestation and embodim ent on earth. Creation has no beginning in time (andi) nor has it an end (ananta). It is an eternal process of the unravelling of the mysteries of the Infinite. Only, it may be said that with the Supermind the creation here enters into a differ ent order of existence. Before it there was the domain of Ignorance, after it will come the reign of Light and Knowledge. Mortality has been the governing principle of life on earth till now; it will be replaced by the consciousness of immortality. Evolution has proceeded through struggle and pain; hereafter it will be a spontaneous, harmonious and happy flowering.
Now, with regard to the time that the pres ent stage of evolution is likely to take for its fulfilm ent, one can presume that since or if the specific urge and stress has manifested and come up to the front, this very fact would show that the problem has become a problem of actuality, and even that it can be dealt with as if it had to be solved now or never. We have said that in man, with man's self-consciousness or the consciousness of the psychic being as the instrum ent, evolution has attained the capacity of a swift and conc entrated process, which is the process of Yoga; the process will become swifter and more conc entrated, the more that instrum ent grows and gathers power and is infused with the divine afflatus. In fact, evolution has been such a process of gradual acceleration in tempo from the very beginning. The earliest stage, for example, the stage of dead Matter, of the play of the mere chemical forces was a very, very long one; it took millions and millions of years to come to the point when the manifestation of life became possible. But the period of elem entary life, as manifested in the plant world that followed, although it too lasted a good many millions of years, was much briefer than the preceding periodit ended with the adv ent of the first animal form. The age of animal life, again, has been very much shorter than that of the plant life before man came upon earth. And man is already more than a million or two years oldit is fully time that a higher order of being should be created out of him.
01.02 - Sri Aurobindo - Ahana and Other Poems, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
We have been speaking of philosophy and the philosophic manner. But what are the exact implications of the words, let us ask again. They mean nothing more and nothing lessthan the force of thought and the mass of thought cont ent. After all, that seems to be almost the whole difference between the past and the pres ent human consciousness in so far at least as it has found expression in poetry. That elem ent, we wish to point out, is precisely what the old-world poets lacked or did not care to possess or express or stress. A poet meant above all, if not all in all, emotion, passion, sensuousness, sensibility, nervous enthusiasm and imagination and fancy: remember the classic definition given by Shakespeare of the poet
Of imagination all compact.. . .
--
All the tragedy, the entire pathos of human life is conc entrated in this line so simple, yet so grand:
Son of man, thou hast crowned the life with the flowers that are sc entless,
01.02 - The Creative Soul, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The cosmic soul is true. But that truth is borne out, effectuated only by the truth of the individual soul. When the individual soul becomes itself fully and integrally, by that very fact it becomes also the cosmic soul. The individuals are the channels through which flows the Universal and the Infinite in its multiple emphasis. Each is a particular figure, aspectBhava, a particular angle of vision of All. The vision is entire and the figure perfect if it is not refracted by the lower and denser parts of our being. And for that the individual must first come to itself and shine in its opal clarity and translucency.
Not to do what others do, but what your soul impels you to do. Not to be others but your own self. Not to be anything but the very cosmic and infinite divinity of your soul. Therein lies your highest freedom and perfect delight. And there you are supremely creative. Each soul has a consortPrakriti, Naturewhich it creates out of its own rib. And in this field of infinite creativity the soul lives, moves and has its being.
01.02 - The Issue, #Savitri, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
And be the ungarbed entity within:
That hour had fallen now on Savitri.
01.02 - The Object of the Integral Yoga, #The Integral Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
... the object of the Yoga is to enter into and be possessed by the Divine Presence and Consciousness, to love the Divine for the Divine's sake alone, to be turned in our nature into nature of the Divine and in our will and works and life to be the instrum ent of the Divine. Its object is not to be a great Yogi or a superman (although that may come) or to grab at the Divine for the sake of the ego's power, pride or pleasure.
It is not for salvation though liberation comes by it and all else may come; but these must not be our objects. The Divine alone is our object.
To come to this Yoga merely with the idea of being a superman would be an act of vital egoism which would defeat its own object. Those who put this object in the front of their preoccupations invariably come to grief, spiritually and otherwise. The aim of this Yoga is, first, to enter into the divine consciousness by merging into it the separative ego (incid entally, in doing so one finds one's true individual self which is not the limited, vain and selfish human ego but a portion of the Divine) and, secondly, to bring down the supram ental consciousness on earth to transform mind, life and body. All else can be only a result of these two aims, not the primary object of the Yoga.
The only creation for which there is any place here is the supram ental, the bringing of the divine Truth down on the earth, not only into the mind and vital but into the body and into
--
You must go inside yourself and enter into a complete dedication to the spiritual life. All clinging to m ental preferences must fall away from you, all insistence on vital aims and interests and attachm ents must be put away, all egoistic clinging to family, friends, country must disappear if you want to succeed in Yoga. Whatever has to come as outgoing energy or action, must proceed from the Truth once discovered and not from the lower m ental or vital motives, from the Divine Will and not from personal choice or the preferences of the ego.
01.03 - Mystic Poetry, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
is just on the borderland: it has succeeded in leaving behind the mystic domain, but has not yet entered the city of the Spiritat the most, it has turned the corner and approached the gate. Listen now,
My soul unhorizoned widens to measureless sight,
--
Even as one Fire hath entered into the world but
it shapeth itself to the form it meeteth, so there
01.03 - Rationalism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
It might be said, however, that the guarantee or sanction of Reason does not lie in the ext ent of its application, nor can its subjective nature (or ego-c entric predication, as philosophers would term it) vitiate the validity of its conclusions. There is, in fact, an inher ent unity and harmony between Reason and Reality. If we know a little of Reality, we know the whole; if we know the subjective, we know also the objective. As in the part, so in the whole; as it is within, so it is without. If you say that I will die, you need not wait for my actual death to have the proof of your statem ent. The generalising power inher ent in Reason is the guarantee of the certitude to which it leads. Reason is valid, as it does not betray us. If it were such as anti-intellectuals make it out to be, we would be making nothing but false steps, would always remain entangled in contradictions. The very success of Reason is proof of its being a reliable and perfect instrum ent for the knowledge of Truth and Reality. It is beside the mark to prove otherwise, simply by analysing the nature of Reason and showing the fundam ental deficiencies of that nature. It is rather to the credit of Reason that being as it is, it is none the less a successful and trustworthy ag ent.
Now the question is, does Reason never fail? Is it such a perfect instrum ent as intellectualists think it to be? There is ground for serious misgivings. Reason says, for example, that the earth revolves round the sun: and reason, it is argued, is right, for we see that all the facts are conformableto it, even facts that were hitherto unknown and are now coming into our ken. But the difficulty is that Reason did not say that always in the past and may not say that always in the future. The old astronomers could explain the universe by holding quite a contrary theory and could fit into it all their astronomical data. A future sci entist may come and explain the matter in quite a differ ent way from either. It is only a choice of workable theories that Reason seems to offer; we do not know the fact itself, apart perhaps from exactly the amount that immediate sense-perception gives to each of us. Or again, if we take an example of another category, we may ask, does God exist? A candid Rationalist would say that he does not know although he has his own opinion about the matter. Evid ently, Reason cannot solve all the problems that it meets; it can judge only truths that are of a certain type.
01.03 - Sri Aurobindo and his School, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Sri Aurobindo's sadhana starts from the perception of a Power that is beyond the ordinary nature yet is its inevitable master, a fulcrum, as we have said, outside the earth. For what is required first is the discovery and manifestation of a new soul-consciousness in man which will bring about by the very pressure and working out of its self-rule an absolute reversal of man's nature. It is the Asuras who are now holding sway over humanity, for man has allowed himself so long to be built in the image of the Asura; to dislodge the Asuras, the Gods in their sovereign might have to be forged in the human being and brought into play. It is a stupendous task, some would say impossible; but it is very far removed from quietism or passivism. Sri Aurobindo is in retirem ent, but it is a retirem ent only from the outward field of pres ent physical activities and their appar ent actualities, not from the true forces and action of life. It is the retreat necessary to one who has to go back into himself to conquer a new plane of creative power,an entrance right into the world of basic forces, of fundam ental realities, into the flaming heart of things where all actualities are born and take their first shape. It is the discovery of a power-house of tremendous energism and of the means of putting it at the service of earthly life.
And, properly speaking, it is not at all a school, least of all a mere school of thought, that is growing round Sri Aurobindo. It is rather the nucleus of a new life that is to come. Quite naturally it has almost insignificant proportions at pres ent to the outward eye, for the work is still of the nature of experim ent and trial in very restricted limits, something in the nature of what is done in a laboratory when a new power has been discovered, but has still to be perfectly formulated in its process. And it is quite a mistake to suppose that there is a vigorous propaganda carried on in its behalf or that there is a large demand for recruits. Only the few, who possess the call within and are impelled by the spirit of the future, have a chance of serving this high attempt and great realisation and standing among its first instrum ents and pioneer workers.
01.03 - The Yoga of the King - The Yoga of the Souls Release, #Savitri, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
To enter, swelled into a canticle
Of all that suffers to be still unknown
--
An inspired Knowledge sat enthroned within
Whose seconds illumined more than reason's years:
--
The inspiring goddess entered a mortal's breast,
Made there her study of divining thought
--
His wide eyes bodied viewless entities,
He saw the cosmic forces at their work
01.03 - Yoga and the Ordinary Life, #The Integral Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The best way to prepare oneself for the spiritual life when one has to live in the ordinary occupations and surroundings is to cultivate an entire equality and detachm ent and the samata of the Gita with the faith that the Divine is there and the Divine Will at work in all things even though at pres ent under the conditions of a world of Ignorance. Beyond this are the Light and Ananda towards which life is working, but the best way for their adv ent and foundation in the individual being and nature is to grow in this spiritual equality. That would also solve your difficulty about things unpleasant and disagreeable. All unpleasantness should be faced with this spirit of samata.
I may say briefly that there are two states of consciousness in either of which one can live. One is a higher consciousness which stands above the play of life and governs it; this is variously called the Self, the Spirit or the Divine. The other is the normal consciousness in which men live; it is something quite superficial, an instrum ent of the Spirit for the play of life. Those who live and act in the normal consciousness are governed entirely by the common movem ents of the mind and are naturally subject to grief and joy and anxiety and desire or to everything else that makes up the ordinary stuff of life.
M ental quiet and happiness they can get, but it can never be perman ent or secure. But the spiritual consciousness is all light, peace, power and bliss. If one can live entirely in it, there is no question; these things become naturally and securely his.
But even if he can live partly in it or keep himself constantly open to it, he receives enough of this spiritual light and peace and strength and happiness to carry him securely through all the shocks of life. What one gains by opening to this spiritual consciousness, depends on what one seeks from it; if it is peace, one gets peace; if it is light or knowledge, one lives in a great light and receives a knowledge deeper and truer than any the normal mind of man can acquire; if it [is] strength or power, one gets a spiritual strength for the inner life or Yogic power to govern the outer work and action; if it is happiness, one enters into a beatitude far greater than any joy or happiness that the ordinary human life can give.
There are many ways of opening to this Divine consciousness or entering into it. My way which I show to others is by a constant practice to go inward into oneself, to open by aspiration to the Divine and once one is conscious of it and its action to give oneself to It entirely. This self-giving means not to ask for anything but the constant contact or union with the Divine Consciousness, to aspire for its peace, power, light and felicity, but to ask nothing else and in life and action to be its instrum ent only for whatever work it gives one to do in the world. If one can once open and feel the Divine Force, the
Power of the Spirit working in the mind and heart and body, the rest is a matter of remaining faithful to It, calling for it always, allowing it to do its work when it comes and rejecting every other and inferior Force that belongs to the lower consciousness and the lower nature.
--
I must say in view of something you seem to have said to your father that it is not the object of the one to be a great man or the object of the other to be a great Yogin. The ideal of human life is to establish over the whole being the control of a clear, strong and rational mind and a right and rational will, to master the emotional, vital and physical being, create a harmony of the whole and develop the capacities whatever they are and fulfil them in life. In the terms of Hindu thought, it is to enthrone the rule of the purified and sattwic buddhi, follow the dharma, fulfilling one's own svadharma and doing the work proper to one's capacities, and satisfy kama and artha under the control of the buddhi and the dharma. The object of the divine life, on the other hand, is to realise one's highest self or to realise
God and to put the whole being into harmony with the truth of the highest self or the law of the divine nature, to find one's own divine capacities great or small and fulfil them in life as a sacrifice to the highest or as a true instrum ent of the divine
--
Morality is a part of the ordinary life; it is an attempt to govern the outward conduct by certain m ental rules or to form the character by these rules in the image of a certain m ental ideal. The spiritual life goes beyond the mind; it enters into the deeper consciousness of the Spirit and acts out of the truth of the Spirit.
The principle of life which I seek to establish is spiritual.
01.04 - Motives for Seeking the Divine, #The Integral Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Divine and do His work or His will and I am satisfied, even if the use of Power entails suffering also." It is possible to shun bliss as a thing too tremendous or ecstatic and ask only or rather for peace, for liberation, for Nirvana. You speak of self-fulfilm ent,
- one may regard the Supreme not as the Divine but as one's highest Self and seek fulfilm ent of one's being in that highest Self; but one need not envisage it as a self of bliss, ecstasy, Ananda - one may envisage it as a self of freedom, vastness, knowledge, tranquillity, strength, calm, perfection - perhaps too calm for a ripple of anything so disturbing as joy to enter. So even if it is for something to be gained that one approaches the Divine, it is not a fact that one can approach Him or seek union only for the sake of Ananda and nothing else.
That involves something which throws all your reasoning out of gear. For these are aspects of the Divine Nature, powers of it, states of his being, - but the Divine Himself is something absolute, someone self-exist ent, not limited by his aspects, - wonderful and ineffable, not existing by them, but they existing because of him. It follows that if he attracts by his aspects, all the more he can attract by his very absolute selfness which is sweeter, mightier, profounder than any aspect. His peace, rapture, light, freedom, beauty are marvellous and ineffable, because he is himself magically, mysteriously, transcend ently marvellous and ineffable. He can then be sought after for his wonderful and ineffable self and not only for the sake of one aspect or another of him. The only thing needed for that is, first, to arrive at a point when the psychic being feels this pull of the Divine in himself and, secondly, to arrive at the point when the mind, vital and each thing else begins to feel too that that was what it was wanting and the surface hunt after Ananda or what else was only an excuse for drawing the nature towards that supreme magnet.
01.04 - The Intuition of the Age, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Now, in order to understand the new ori entation of the spirit of the pres ent age, we may profitably ask what was the inspiration of the past age, the characteristic note which has failed to satisfy us and which we are endeavouring to transform. We know that that age was the Sci entific age or the age of Reason. Its great prophets were Voltaire and the Encyclopaedists or if you mount further up in time, we may begin from Bacon and the humanists. Its motto was first, "The proper study of mankind is man" and secondly, Reason is the supreme organon of knowledge, the highest deity in manla Desse Raison. And it is precisely against these two basic principles that the new age has entered its protest. In face of Humanism, Nietzsche has posited the Superman and in face of Reason Bergson has posited Intuition.
The worship of man as something ess entially and exclusively human necessitates as a corollary, the other doctrine, viz the deification of Reason; and vice versa. Humanism and Sci entism go together and the whole spirit and m entality of the age that is passing may be summed up in those two words. So Nietzsche says, "All our modern world is captured in the net of the Alexandrine culture and has, for its ideal, the theoretical man, armed with the most powerful instrum ents of knowledge, toiling in the service of science and whose prototype and original ancestor is Socrates." Indeed, it may be generally asserted that the nation whose prophet and sage claimed to have brought down Philosophia from heaven to dwell upon earth among men was precisely the nation, endowed with a clear and logical intellect, that was the very embodim ent of rationality and reasonableness. As a matter of fact, it would not be far, wrong to say that it is the Hellenic culture which has been moulding humanity for ages; at least, it is this which has been the predominating factor, the vital and dynamic elem ent in man's nature. Greece when it died was reborn in Rome; Rome, in its return, found new life in France; and France means Europe. What Europe has been and still is for the world and humanity one knows only too much. And yet, the Hellenic genius has not been the sole motive power and constitu ent elem ent; there has been another leaven which worked constantly within, if intermitt ently without. If Europe repres ented mind and man and this side of existence, Asia always reflected that which transcends the mind the spirit, the Gods and the Beyonds.
--
Reason is insuffici ent and unsatisfactory because, as Bergson explains, it does not and cannot embrace life as a whole, seize man and the world in an integral realisation. The greater part of the vast mystery of existence escapes its envergure. Reason is that faculty which is for analysing, defining, classifying and fixing things. It is a power that has grown in man in order that he may best manipulate the things of the world. It is utilitarian, practical in its nature and outlook. And as practical dealing requires that things should be stable and separate entities, therefore Reason cannot but see things in solid and in the fragm ents of a solid. It cuts up existence into distinct parts and diverse elem ents; and these again it seeks to relate and aggregate, in accordance with what it calls "laws". Such a process has been necessary for man in conducting life and action successfully. Originally a bye-product of active life, Reason gradually separated itself and came finally to have an independ ent status and function, became or sought to become the instrum ent of knowledge, of Truth.
But although Reason has been and is useful for the practical, we may say almost, the manual aspect of life, life itself it leaves unexplained and uncomprehended. For life is mobility, a continuous flow that has nowhere any gap or stop and things have in reality no isolated or separate existence, they merge and mingle into one another and form an indissoluble whole. Therefore the forms and categories that Reason imposes upon existence are more or less arbitrary; they are shackles that seek to bind up and limit life, but are often r ent asunder in the very effort. So the civilisation that has its origin in Reason and progresses with discoveries and inv entionsdevices for artfully manipulating naturehas been ess entially and pre-emin ently mechanical in its structure and outlook. It has become more and more effici ent perhaps, but less and less soul-inspired, less and less-endowed with the free-flowing sap of organic growth and vitality.
01.04 - The Poetry in the Making, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
When we say one is conscious, we usually mean that one is conscious with the m ental consciousness, with the rational intelligence, with the light of the brain. But this need not be always so. For one can be conscious with other forms of consciousness or in other planes of consciousness. In the average or normal man the consciousness is linked to or id entified with the brain function, the rational intelligence and so we conclude that without this wakeful brain activity there can be no consciousness. But the fact is otherwise. The experiences of the mystic prove the point. The mystic is conscious on a level which we describe as higher than the mind and reason, he has what may be called the overhead consciousness. (Apart from the normal consciousness, which is named jagrat, waking, the Upanishad speaks of three other increasingly subtler states of consciousness, swapna, sushupti and turiya.)And then one can be quite unconscious, as in samadhi that can be sushupti or turiyaorpartially consciousin swapna, for example, the external behaviour may be like that of a child or a lunatic or even a goblin. One can also remain normally conscious and still be in the superconscience. Not only so, the mystic the Yogican be conscious on infraconscious levels also; that is to say, he can enter into and id entify with the consciousness involved in life and even in Matter; he can feel and realise his oneness with the animal world, the plant world and finally the world of dead earth, of "stocks and stones" too. For all these strands of existence have each its own type of consciousness and all differ ent from the mode of mind which is normally known as consciousness. When St. Francis addresses himself to the brother Sun or the sister Moon, or when the Upanishad speaks of the tree silhouetted against the sky, as if stilled in trance, we feel there is something of this fusion and id entification of consciousness with an infra-consci ent existence.
I said that the supreme artist is superconscious: his consciousness withdraws from the normal m ental consciousness and becomes awake and alive in another order of consciousness. To that superior consciousness the artist's m entalityhis ideas and dispositions, his judgm ents and valuations and acquisitions, in other words, his normal psychological make-upserves as a channel, an instrum ent, a medium for transcription. Now, there are two stages, or rather two lines of activity in the processus, for they may be overlapping and practically simultaneous. First, there is the withdrawal and the in-gathering of consciousness and then its reappearance into expression. The consciousness retires into a secret or subtle worldWords-worth's "recollected in tranquillity"and comes back with the riches gathered or transmuted there. But the purity of the gold thus garnered and stalled in the artistry of words and sounds or lines and colours depends altogether upon the purity of the channel through which it has to pass. The m ental vehicle receives and records and it can do so to perfection if it is perfectly in tune with what it has to receive and record; otherwise the transcription becomes mixed and blurred, a faint or confused echo, a poor show. The supreme creators are precisely those in whom the receptacle, the instrum ental faculties offer the least resistance and record with absolute fidelity the experiences of the over or inner consciousness. In Shakespeare, in Homer, in Valmiki the inflatus of the secret consciousness, the inspiration, as it is usually termed, bears down, sweeps away all obscurity or contrariety in the recording m entality, suffuses it with its own glow and puissance, indeed resolves it into its own substance, as it were. And the difference between the two, the secret norm and the recording form, determines the scale of the artist's creative value. It happens often that the obstruction of a too critically observant and self-conscious brain-mind successfully blocks up the flow of something supremely beautiful that wanted to come down and waited for an opportunity.
--
The three or four major orders I speak of in reference to conscious artistry are exampled characteristically in the history of the evolution of Greek poetry. It must be remembered, however, at the very outset that the Greeks as a race were nothing if not rational and intellectual. It was an elem ent of strong self-consciousness that they brought into human culture that was their special gift. Leaving out of account Homer who was, as I said, a primitive, their classical age began with Aeschylus who was the first and the most spontaneous and intuitive of the Great Three. Sophocles, who comes next, is more balanced and self-controlled and pregnant with a reasoned thought-cont ent clothed in polished phrasing. We feel here that the artist knew what he was about and was exercising a conscious control over his instrum ents and materials, unlike his predecessor who seemed to be completely carried away by the onrush of the poetic enthousiasmos. Sophocles, in spite of his artistic perfection or perhaps because of it, appears to be just a little, one remove, away from the purity of the c entral inspiration there is a veil, although a thin transpar ent veil, yet a veil between which intervenes. With the third of the Brotherhood, Euripides, we slide lower downwe arrive at a predominantly m ental transcription of an experience or inner conception; but something of the major breath continues, an aura, a rhythm that maintains the inner contact and thus saves the poetry. In a subsequ ent age, in Theocritus, for example, poetry became truly very much 'sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought', so much of virtuosity and precocity entered into it; in other words, the poet then was an excessively self-conscious artist. That seems to be the general trend of all literature.
But should there be an inher ent incompatibility between spontaneous creation and self-consciousness? As we have seen, a harmony and fusion can and do happen of the superconscious and the normally conscious in the Yogi. Likewise, an artist also can be wakeful and transpar ent enough so that he is conscious on both the levels simultaneouslyabove, he is conscious of the source and origin of his inspiration, and on the level plain he is conscious of the working of the instrum ent, how the vehicle transcribes and embodies what comes from elsewhere. The poet's consciousness becomes then dival ent as it werethere is a sense of absolute passivity in respect of the receiving apparatus and coupled and immisced with it there is also the sense of dynamism, of conscious agency as in his secret being he is the master of his apparatus and one with the Inspirerin other words, the poet is both a seer (kavih) and a creator or doer (poits).
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Such a stage in human evolution, the adv ent of Homo Faber, has been a necessity; it has to serve a purpose and it has done admirably its work. Only we have to put it in its proper place. The salvation of an extremely self-conscious age lies in an exceeding and not in a further enhancem ent or an exclusive conc entration of the self-consciousness, nor, of course, in a falling back into the original unconsciousness. It is this shift in the poise of consciousness that has been presaged and prepared by the conscious, the sci entific artists of today. Their task is to forge an instrum ent for a type of poetic or artistic creation completely new, unfamiliar, almost revolutionary which the older mould would find it impossible to render adequately. The yearning of the human consciousness was not to rest satisfied with the familiar and the ordinary, the pressure was for the discovery of other strands, secret stores of truth and reality and beauty. The first discovery was that of the great Unconscious, the dark and mysterious and all-powerful subconsci ent. Many of our poets and artists have been influenced by this power, some even sought to enter into that region and become its denizens. But artistic inspiration is an emanation of Light; whatever may be the field of its play, it can have its origin only in the higher spheres, if it is to be truly beautiful and not merely curious and sci entific.
That is what is wanted at pres ent in the artistic world the true inspiration, the breath from higher altitudes. And here comes the role of the mystic, the Yogi. The sense of evolution, the march of human consciousness demands and prophesies that the future poet has to be a mysticin him will be fulfilled the travail of man's conscious working. The self-conscious craftsman, the tireless experim enter with his adv enturous analytic mind has sharpened his instrum ent, made it supple and elastic, tempered, refined and enriched it; that is comparable to what we call the aspiration or call from below. Now the Grace must descend and fulfil. And when one rises into this higher consciousness beyond the brain and mind, when one lives there habitually, one knows the why and the how of things, one becomes a perfectly conscious operator and still retains all spontaneity and freshness and wonder and magic that are usually associated with inconscience and irreflection. As there is a spontaneity of instinct, there is likewise also a spontaneity of vision: a child is spontaneous in its movem ents, even so a seer. Not only so, the higher spontaneity is more spontaneous, for the higher consciousness means not only awareness but the free and untrammelled activity and expression of the truth and reality it is.
--
But the evolutionary urge, as I have said, has always been to bring down or instil more and more light and self-consciousness into the depths of the heart too: and the first result has been an intellectualisation, a rationalisation of the consciousness, a movem ent of sci entific observation and criticism which very naturally leads to a desiccation of the poetic enthusiasm and fervour. But a period of transcendence is in gestation. All efforts of modern poets and craftsmen, even those that seem appar ently queer, bizarre and futile, are at bottom a travail for this transcendence, including those that seem contradictory to it.
Whether the original and true source of the poet's inspiration lies deep within or high above, all depends upon the mediating instrum ent the mind (in its most general sense) and speech for a successful transcription. Man's ever-growing consciousness demanded also a conscious developm ent and remoulding of these two factors. A growth, a heightening and deepening of the consciousness meant inevitably a movem ent towards the spiritual elem ent in things. And that means, we have said, a twofold change in the future poet's make-up. First as regards the substance. The revolutionary shift that we notice in modern poets towards a completely new domain of subject-matter is a signpost that more is meant than what is expressed. The superficialities and futilities that are dealt with do not in their outward form give the real trend of things. In and through all these major and constant preoccupation of our poets is "the pain of the pres ent and the passion for the future": they are, as already stated, more prophets than poets, but prophets for the mom ent crying in the wildernessalthough some have chosen the path of denial and revolt. They are all looking ahead or beyond or deep down, always yearning for another truth and reality which will explain, justify and transmute the pres ent calvary of human living. Such an acute tension of consciousness has necessitated an overhauling of the vehicle of expression too, the creation of a mode of expressing the inexpressible. For that is indeed what human consciousness and craft are aiming at in the pres ent stage of man's evolution. For everything, almost everything that can be normally expressed has been expressed and in a variety of ways as much as is possible: that is the history of man's aesthetic creativity. Now the eye probes into the unexpressed world; for the artist too the Upanishadic problem has cropped up:
--
But the more truly modern mind looks at the thing in a slightly differ ent way. The good and the evil are not, to it, contrary to each other: one does not deny or negate the other. They are intermixed, fused in a mysterious id entity. The best and the worst are but two conditions, two pot entials of the same entity. Baudelaire, who can be considered as the first of the real moderns in many ways, saw and experienced this intimate polarity or id entity of opposites in human nature and consciousness. What is Evil, who is the Evil One:
Une Ide, uneForme, Un tre
01.04 - The Secret Knowledge, #Savitri, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Has entered with his silence into space:
He has fashioned these countless persons of one self;
01.05 - Rabindranath Tagore: A Great Poet, a Great Man, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Tagore is in direct line with those bards who have sung of the Spirit, who always soared high above the falsehoods and uglinesses of a merely mundane life and lived in the undecaying delights and beauties of a diviner consciousness. Spiritual reality was the c entral theme of his poetic creation: only and naturally he viewed it in a special way and endowed it with a special grace. We know of another God-intoxicated man, the Jewish philosopher Spinoza, who saw things sub specie aeternitatis, under the figure or mode of eternity. Well, Tagore can be said to see things, in their ess ential spiritual reality, under the figure or mode of beauty. Keats indeed spoke of truth being beauty and beauty truth. But there is a great difference in the outlook and inner experience. A worshipper of beauty, unless he rises to the Upanishadic norm, is prone to become sensuous and pagan. Keats was that, Kalidasa was that, even Shelley was not far differ ent. The spiritual vein in all these poets remains secondary. In the old Indian master, it is part of his intellectual equipm ent, no doubt, but nothing much more than that. In the other two it comes in as strange flashes from an unknown country, as a sort of irruption or on the peak of the poetic afflatus or enthousiasmos.
The world being nothing but Spirit made visible is, according to Tagore, fundam entally a thing of beauty. The scars and spots that are on the surface have to be removed and mankind has to repossess and clo the itself with that mantle of beauty. The world is beautiful, because it is the image of the Beautiful, because it harbours, expresses and embodies the Divine who is Beauty supreme. Now by a strange alchemy, a wonderful effect of polarisation, the very spiritual elem ent in Tagore has made him almost a pagan and even a profane. For what are these glories of Nature and the still more exquisite glories that the human body has captured? They are but vibrations and modulations of beauty the delightful names and forms of the supreme Lover and Beloved.
01.05 - The Yoga of the King - The Yoga of the Spirits Freedom and Greatness, #Savitri, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
And entered where the Wings of Glory brood
In the sil ent space where all is for ever known.
--
23.7A magic porch of entry glimmering
Quivered in a penumbra of screened Light,
--
There he could enter, there awhile abide.
A voyager upon uncharted routes
01.06 - On Communism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Now, what such an uncompromising individualism fails to recognise is that individuality and ego are not the same thing, that the individual may have his individuality intact and entire and yet sacrifice his ego, that the soul of man is a much greater thing than his vital being. It is simply ignoring the fact and denying the truth to say that man is only a fighting animal and not a loving god, that the self within the individual realises itself only through competition and not co-operation. It is an error to conceive of society as a mere parallelogram of forces, to suppose that it has risen simply out of the struggle of individual interests and continues to remain by that struggle. Struggle is only one aspect of the thing, a particular form at a particular stage, a temporary manifestation due to a particular system and a particular habit and training. It would be nearer the truth to say that society came into being with the demand of the individual soul to unite with the individual soul, with the stress of an Over-soul to express itself in a multitude of forms, diverse yet linked together and organised in perfect harmony. Only, the stress for union manifested itself first on the material plane as struggle: but this is meant to be corrected and transcended and is being continually corrected and transcended by a secret harmony, a real commonality and brotherhood and unity. The individual is not so self-c entred as the individualists make him to be, his individuality has a much vaster orbit and fulfils itself only by fulfilling others. The sci entists have begun to discover other instincts in man than those of struggle and competition; they now place at the origin of social grouping an instinct which they name the herd-instinct: but this is only a formulation in lower terms, a translation on the vital plane of a higher truth and reality the fundam ental oneness and accord of individuals and their spiritual impulsion to unite.
However, individualism has given us a truth and a formula which collectivism ignored. Self-determination is a thing which has come to stay. Each and every individual is free, absolutely free and shall freely follow his own line of growth and developm ent and fulfilm ent. No extraneous power shall choose and fix what is good or evil for him, nor coerce and exploit him for its own benefit. But that does not necessarily mean that collectivism has no truth in it; collectivism also, as much as individualism, has a lesson for us and we should see whether we can harmonise the two. Collectivism signifies that the individual should not look to himself alone, should not be shut up in his freedom but expand himself and envelop others in a wider freedom, see other creatures in himself and himself in other creatures, as the Gita says. Collectivism demands that the individual need not and should not exhaust himself entirely in securing and enjoying his personal freedom, but that he can and should work for the salvation of others; the truth it upholds is this that the individual is from a certain point of view only a part of the group and by ignoring the latter it ignores itself in the end.
Now, a spiritual communism embraces individualism and collectivism, fuses them in a higher truth, establishes them in an intimate and absolute harmony. The individual is the c entre, the group is the circumference and the two form one whore circle. The individual by fulfilling the truth of his real individuality fulfils also the truth of a commonality. There are no differ ent laws for the two. The individuals do not stand apart from and against one another, the dharma of one does not clash with the dharma of the other. The ripples in the bosom of the sea, however distinct and discrete in appearance, form but a single mass, all follow the same law of hydrodynamics that the mother sea incarnates. Stars and planets and nebulae, each separate heavenly body has its characteristic form and nature and function and yet all fulfil the same law of gravitation and beat the measure of the sil ent symphony of spaces. Individualities are the freedoms of the collective being and collectivity the conc entration of individual beings. The same soul looking inward appears as the individual being and looking outward appears as the collective being.
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The individual who leads a severely individual life from the very beginning, whose outlook of the world has been fashioned by that conception, can hardly, if at all, enter at the end the communal life. He must perforce be either a vagabond or a recluse: But the recluse is not an integral man, nor the vagabond an ideal personality. The individual need not be too chaste and shy to associate with others and to give and take as freely and fully as he can. Individuality is not necessarily curtailed or mutilated in this process, but there is this other greater possibility of its getting enlarged and enhanced. Rather it is when you shut yourself up in your own self, that you stick to only one line of your personality, to a single phase of your self and thus limit and diminish yourself; the breadth and height and depth of your self, the cubic completeness of your personality you can attain only through a multiple and variegated stress by which you come in contact with the world and things.
So first the individual and then the commune is not the natural nor the ideal principle. On the other hand, first the commune and then the individual would appear to be an equally defective principle. For first a commune means an organisation, its laws and rules and regulations, its injunctions and prohibitions; all which signifies or comes to signify that every individual is not free to enter its fold and that whoever enters must know how to dovetail himself therein and thus crush down the very life-power whose enhancem ent and efflorescence is sought. First a commune means necessarily a creed, a dogma, a set form of being and living indelibly marked out from beforehand. The individual has there no choice of finding and developing the particular creed or dogma or mode of being and living, from out of his own self, along his particular line of natural growth; all that is imposed upon him and he has to accept and make it his own by trial and effort and self-torture. Even if the commune be a contractual association, the members having joined together in a common cause to a common end, by voluntarily sacrificing a portion of their personal choice and freedom, even then it is not the ideal thing; the collective soul will be diminished in exact proportion as each individual soul has had to be diminished, be that voluntary or otherwise. That commune is plenary and entire which ensures plenitude and entirety to each of its individuals.
Now how to escape the dilemma? Only if we take the commune and the individual togetheren bloc, as has already been suggested. This means that the commune should be at the beginning a subtle and supple thing, without form and even without name, it should be no more than the circumambi ent aura the sukshma deha that plays around a group of individuals who meet and unite and move together by a secret affinity, along a common path towards a common goal. As each individual develops and defines himself, the commune also takes a more and more concrete shape; and when at the last stage the individual rises to the full height of his godhead, takes possession of his integral divinity, the commune also establishes its solid empire, vivid and vibrant in form and name.
01.07 - Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
"Connaissez done, superbe, quel paradoxe vous tes vous-mme. Humiliezvous, raison impuissante: apprenez que l'homme passe infinim ent l'homme, et entendez de votre matre votre condition vritable que vous ignorez. coutez Dieu.'.
***
01.08 - A Theory of Yoga, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The rec ent science of Psycho-analysis has brought to light certain hidden springs and undercurr ents of the mind; it has familiarised us with a mode of viewing the entire psychical life of man which will be fruitful for our pres ent enquiry. Mind, it has been found, is a house divided, against itself, that is to say it is an arena where differ ent and diverg ent forces continually battle against one another. There must be, however, at the same time, some sort of a resolution of these forces, some equation that holds them in balance, otherwise the mind the human being itselfwould cease to exist as an entity. What is the mechanism of this balance of power in the human mind? In order to ascertain that we must first of all know the fundam ental nature of the struggle and also the character of the more elem ental forces that are engaged in it.
There are some primary desires that seek satisfaction in man. They are the vital urges of life, the most promin ent among them being the instinct of self-preservation and that of self-reproduction or the desire to preserve one's body by defensive as well as by offensive means and the desire to multiply oneself by mating. These are the two biological necessities that are inevitable to man's existence as a physical being. They give the minimum conditions required to be fulfilled by man in order that he may live and hence they are the strongest and the most fundam ental elem ents that enter into his structure and composition.
It would have been an easy matter if these vital urges could flow on unhindered in their way. There would have been no problem at all, if they met satisfaction easily and smoothly, without having to look to other factors and forces. As a matter of fact, man does not and cannot gratify his instincts whenever and wherever he chooses and in an open and direct manner. Even in his most primitive and barbarous condition, he has often to check himself and throw a veil, in so many ways, over his sheer animality. In the civilised society the check is manifold and is frankly recognised. We do not go straight as our sexual impulsion leads, but seek to hide and camouflage it under the institution of marriage; we do not pounce upon the food directly we happen to meet it and snatch and appropriate whatever portion we get but we secure it through an elaborate process, which is known as the economic system. The machinery of the state, the cult of the kshatriya are roundabout ways to meet our fighting instincts.
--
The human mind naturally, without any effort on its part, takes to one or more of these devices to control and conceal the aboriginal impulses. But this spontaneous process can be organised and consciously regulated and made to serve better the purpose and urge of Nature. And this is the beginning of yoga the conscious fulfilm ent of Nature. The Psycho-analysts have given us the first and elem entary stage of this process of yoga. It is, we may say, the fourth line of control. With this man enters a new level of being, develops a new mode of life. It is when the automatism of Nature is replaced by the power of Conscious Control. Man is not here, a blind instrum ent of forces, his activities (both indulging and controlling) are not guided according to an ignorant submission to the laws of almost subconscious impulsions. Conscious control means that the mind does not fight shy of or seek to elude the aboriginal insistences, but allows them to come up freely, meets them squarely, recognises them and establishes an easy mastery over them.
The method of unconscious or subconscious nature is fundam entally that of repression. Apart from Defence Reaction which is a thing of pure coercion, even in Substitution and Sublimation there always remains in the background a large amount of repressed complexes in all their primitive strength. The system is never entirely purified but remains secretly pregnant with those urges; a part only is deflected and camouflaged, the surface only assumes a transformed appearance. And there is always the danger of the superstructure coming down helplessly by a sudden upheaval of the nether forces. The whole system feels, although not in a conscious manner, the tension of the repression and suffers from something that is unhealthy and ill-balanced. Dante's spiritualised passion is a supreme instance of control by Sublimation, but the Divina Comedia hardly bears the impress of a serene and tranquil soul, sovereignly above the turmoils of the tragedy of life and absolutely at peace with itself.
In conscious control, the mind is for the first time aware of the presence of the repressed impulses, it seeks to release them from the pressure to which they are habitually and normally subjected. It knows and recognises them, however ugly and revolting they might appear to be when they pres ent themselves in their natural nakedness. Then it becomes easy for the conscious determination to eliminate or regulate or transform them and thus to establish a healthy harmony in the human vehicle. The very recognition itself, as implied in conscious control, means purification.
01.08 - Walter Hilton: The Scale of Perfection, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Here is the Augustinian mantra taken as the motto of The Scale of Perfection: We ascend the ascending grades in our heart and we sing the song of ascension1. The journey's end is heavenly Jerusalem, the House of the Lord. The steps of this inner ascension are easily visible, not surely to the outer eye of the sense-burdened man, but to the "ghostly seeing" of the aspirant which is hazy in the beginning but slowly clears as he advances. The first step is the withdrawal from the outer senses and looking and seeing within. "Turn home again in thyself, and hold thee within and beg no more without." The immediate result is a darkness and a restless darknessit is a painful night. The outer objects of attraction and interest have been discarded, but the inner attachm ents and passions surge there still. If, however, one continues and persists, refuses to be drawn out, the turmoil settles down and the darkness begins to thin and wear away. One must not lose heart, one must have patience and perseverance. So when the outward world is no more-there and its call also no longer awakes any echo in us, then comes the stage of "restful darkness" or "light-some darkness". But it is still the dark Night of the soul. The outer light is gone and the inner light is not yet visible: the night, the desert, the great Nought, stretches between these two lights. But the true seeker goes through and comes out of the tunnel. And there is happiness at the end. "The seeking is travaillous, but the finding is blissful." When one steps out of the Night, enters into the deepest layer of the being, one stands face to face to one's soul, the very image of God, the perfect God-man, the Christ within. That is the third degree of our inner ascension, the entry into the deepest, purest and happiest statein which one becomes what he truly is; one finds the Christ there and dwells in love and union with him. But there is still a further step to take, and that is real ascension. For till now it has been a going within, from the outward to the inner and the inmost; now one has to go upward, transcend. Within the body, in life, however deep you may go, even if you find your soul and your union with Jesus whose tabernacle is your soul, still there is bound to remain a shadow of the sinful prison-house; the perfect bliss and purity without any earthly taint, the completeness and the crowning of the purgation and transfiguration can come only when you go beyond, leaving altogether the earthly form and worldly vesture and soar into Heaven itself and be in the company of the Trinity. "Into myself, and after... above myself by overpassing only into Him." At the same time it is pointed out, this mediaeval mystic has the common sense to see that the going in and going above of which one speaks must not be understood in a literal way, it is a figure of speech. The movem ent of the mystic is psychological"ghostly", it is saidnot physical or carnal.
This spiritual march or progress can also be described as a growing into the likeness of the Lord. His true self, his own image is implanted within us; he is there in the profoundest depth of our being as Jesus, our beloved and our soul rests in him in utmost bliss. We are aware neither of Jesus nor of his spouse, our soul, because of the obsession of the flesh, the turmoil raised by the senses, the blindness of pride and egoism. All that constitutes the first or old Adam, the image of Nought, the body of death which means at bottom the "false misruled love in to thyself." This self-love is the mother of sin, is sin itself. What it has to be replaced by is charity that is the true meaning of Christian charity, forgetfulness of self. "What is sin but a wanting and a forbearing of God." And the whole task, the discipline consists in "the shaping of Christ in you, the casting of sin through Christ." Who then is Christ, what is he? This knowledge you get as you advance from your sense-bound perception towards the inner and inmost seeing. As your outer nature gets purified, you approach gradually your soul, the scales fall off from your eyes too and you have the knowledge and "ghostly vision." Here too there are three degrees; first, you start with faith the senses can do nothing better than have faith; next, you rise to imagination which gives a sort of indirect touch or inkling of the truth; finally, you have the "understanding", the direct vision. "If he first trow it, he shall afterwards through grace feel it, and finally understand it."
--
Indeed, there are one or two points, notes for the guidance of the aspirant, which I would like to m ention here for their striking appositeness and simple "soothfastness." First of all with regard to the restless enthusiasm and eagerness of a novice, here is the advice given: "The fervour is so mickle in outward showing, is not only for mickleness of love that they have; but it is for littleness and weakness of their souls, that they may not bear a little touching of God.. afterward when love hath boiled out all the uncleanliness, then is the love clear and standeth still, and then is both the body and the soul mickle more in peace, and yet hath the self soul mickle more love than it had before, though it shew less outward." And again: "without any fervour outward shewed, and the less it thinketh that it loveth or seeth God, the nearer it nigheth" ('it' naturally refers to the soul). The statem ent is beautifully self-luminous, no explanation is required. Another hurdle that an aspirant has to face often in the passage through the Dark Night is that you are left all alone, that you are deserted by your God, that the Grace no longer favours you. Here is however the truth of the matter; "when I fall down to my frailty, then Grace withdraweth: for my falling is cause there-of, and not his fleeing." In fact, the Grace never withdraws, it is we who withdraw and think otherwise. One more difficulty that troubles the beginner especially is with regard to the false light. The being of darkness comes in the form of the angel of light, imitates the tone of the still small voice; how to recognise, how to distinguish the two? The false light, the "feigned sun" is always found "atwixt two black rainy clouds" : they are "highing" of oneself and "lowing" of others. When you feel flattered and elated, beware it is the siren voice tempting you. The true light brings you soothing peace and meekness: the other light brings always a trail of darknessf you are soothfast and sincere you will discover it if not near you, somewhere at a distance lurking.
The ultimate truth is that God is the sole doer and the best we can do is to let him do freely without let or hindrance. "He that through Grace may see Jhesu, how that He doth all and himself doth right nought but suffereth Jhesu work in him what him liketh, he is meek." And yet one does not arrive at that condition from the beginning or all at once. "The work is not of the hour nor of a day, but of many days and years." And for a long time one has to take up one's burden and work, co-operate with the Divine working. In the process there is this double movem ent necessary for the full achievem ent. "Neither Grace only without full working of a soul that in it is nor working done without grace bringeth a soul to reforming but that one joined to that other." Mysticism is not all ecc entricity and irrationality: on the contrary, sanity seems to be the very character of the higher mysticism. And it is this sanity, and even a happy sense of humour accompanying it, that makes the genuine mystic teacher say: "It is no mastery to me for to say it, but for to do it there is mastery." Amen.
01.09 - The Parting of the Way, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
As a matter of fact it is not so. The glimpses of a higher form of consciousness we can see even now pres ent in self-consciousness. We have spoken of the differ ent stages of evolution as if they were separate and distinct and incommensurate entities. They may be described as such for the purpose of a logical understanding, but in reality they form a single progressive continuum in which one level gradually fuses into another. And as the higher level takes up the law of the lower and evolves out of it a characteristic function, even so the law of the higher level with its characteristic function is already involved and envisaged in the law of the lower level and its characteristic function. It cannot be asserted positively that because man's special virtue is self-consciousness, animals cannot have that quality on any account. We do see, if we care to observe closely and dispassionately, that animals of the higher order, as they approach the level of humanity, show more and more evid ent signs of something which is very much akin to, if not id entical with the human characteristic of self-consciousness.
So, in man also, especially of that order which forms the crown of humanityin poets and artists and seers and great men of actioncan be observed a certain characteristic form of consciousness, which is something other than, greater than the consciousness of the mere self. It is difficult as yet to characterise definitely what that thing is. It is the awakening of the self to something which is beyond itselfit is the cosmic self, the oversoul, the universal being; it is God, it is Turiya, it is sachchidanandain so many ways the thing has been sought to be envisaged and expressed. The consciousness of that level has also a great variety of names given to it Intuition, Revelation, cosmic consciousness, God-consciousness. It is to be noted here, however, that the thing we are referring to, is not the Absolute, the Infinite, the One without a second. It is not, that is to say, the supreme Reality the Brahmanin its static being, in its undivided and indivisible unity; it is the dynamic Brahman, that status of the supreme Reality where creation, the diversity of Becoming takes rise, it is the Truth-worldRitam the domain of typal realities. The distinction is necessary, as there does seem to be such a level of consciousness intermediary, again, between man and the Absolute, between self-consciousness and the supreme consciousness. The simplest thing would be to give that intermediate level of consciousness a negative namesince being as yet human we cannot foresee exactly its composition and function the super-consciousness.
--
This then, it seems to us, is the immediate problem that Nature has set before herself. She is now at the parting of the ways. She has done with man as an ess entially human being, she has brought out the fundam ental possibilities of humanity and perfected it, so far as perfection may be attained within the cadre by which she chose to limit herself; she is now looking forward to another kind of experim ent the evolving of another life, another being out of her entrails, that will be greater than the humanity we know today, that will be superior even to the supreme that has yet been actualised.
Nature has marched from the unconscious to the sub-conscious, from the sub-conscious to the conscious and from the conscious to the self-conscious; she has to rise yet again from the self-conscious to the super-conscious. The mineral gave place to the plant, the plant gave place to the animal and the animal gave place to man; let man give place to and bring out the divine.
0.10 - Letters to a Young Captain, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
in the stud ents, whether in games, athletics or gymnastics. Even our own enthusiasm dwindles when we see
their lack of interest in everything.
--
worship inferior entities? And the Titans must be the
most lovable sons of the Divine!
--
idea that woman is a dangerous being who entices you into sin.
In children, all this is still subconscious, but it influences their
--
But if one rises above the individual m entality and enters
into the consciousness of Unity, then one can understand.
--
I am trying to conc entrate in the heart and to enter
deep within as You advised me to do, but in vain. The
--
freedom. There is a kind of enthusiasm in the soul (I do
not know whether it comes from the soul) to enjoy the
--
The resolutions I make lose their intensity and ardour after a time. How can I keep this enthusiasm and
increase it more and more?
--
You told me to enter within, into the depths of my
heart, to find You seated there. But, Mother, I cannot
manage to enter into the heart. I feel during meditation
that my consciousness is flying around an impenetrable
--
This happens because you are trying to enter with a superficial
consciousness which does not have contact with the inner states
--
that You are not enthusiastic about my going. But why
all this complication? I don't know what X thinks of me,
--
on the idea of good and evil, a moral entity or rather an elem ent of goodwill which tries to keep the individual on what is
commonly known as the straight path.
--
one's state of consciousness. Some are entirely conscious of what
is done for them. Those who make an effort become conscious
01.10 - Nicholas Berdyaev: God Made Human, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Eastern spirituality does not view sorrow and sufferingevilas an integral part of the Divine Consciousness. It is born out of the Divine, no doubt, as nothing can be outside the Divine, but it is a local and temporal formation; it is a disposition consequ ent upon certain conditions and with the absence or elimination of those conditions, this disposition too disappears. God and the Divine Consciousness can only be purity, light, immortality and delight. The compassion that a Buddha feels for the suffering humanity is not at all a feeling of suffering; pain or any such normal human reaction does not enter into its composition; it is the movem ent of a transcend ent consciousness which is beyond and purified of the normal reactions, yet overarching them and entering into them as a soothing and illumining and vivifying presence. The healer knows and understands the pain and suffering of his pati ent but is not touched by them; he need not contract the illness of his pati ent in order to be in sympathy with him. The Divine the Soulcan be in flesh and yet not smirched with its mire; the flesh is not ess entially or irrevocably the ooze it is under certain given conditions. The divine physical body is composed of radiant matter and one can speak of it even as of the soul that weapons cannot pierce it nor can fire burn it.
***
01.10 - Principle and Personality, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
It is asked of us why do we preach a man and not purely and solely a principle. Our ideal being avowedly the establishm ent and reign of a new principle of world-order and not gathering recruits for the camp of a sectarian teacher, it seems all the more inconsist ent, if not thoroughly ruinous for our cause, that we should lay stress upon a particular individual and incur the danger of overshadowing the universal truths upon which we seek to build human society. Now, it is not that we are unconscious or oblivious of the many evils attendant upon the system of preaching a man the history of the rise and decay of many sects and societies is there to give us suffici ent warning; and yet if we cannot entirely give the go-by to personalities and stick to mere and bare principles, it is because we have clear reasons for it, because we are not unconscious or oblivious either of the evils that beset the system of preaching the principle alone.
Religious bodies that are formed through the bhakti and puja for one man, social reconstructions forced by the will and power of a single individual, have already in the inception this grain of incapacity and disease and death that they are not an integrally self-conscious creation, they are not, as a whole, intellig ent and wide awake and therefore constantly responsive to the truths and ideals and realities for which they exist, for which at least, their founder intended them to exist. The light at the apex is the only light and the entire structure is but the shadow of that light; the whole thing has the aspect of a dark mass galvanised into red-hot activity by the passing touch of a dynamo. Immediately however the solitary light fails and the dynamo stops, there is nothing but the original darkness and inertiatoma asit tamasa gudham agre.
Man, however great and puissant he may be, is a perishable thing. People who gather or are gathered round a man and cling to him through the tie of a personal relation must fall off and scatter when the man passes away and the personal tie loses its hold. What remains is a memory, a gradually fading memory. But memory is hardly a creative force, it is a dead, at best, a moribund thing; the real creative power is Presence. So when the great man's presence, the power that crystallises is gone, the whole edifice crumbles and vanishes into air or remains a mere name.
--
The world is full of ikons and archons; we cannot escape them, even if we try the world itself being a great ikon and as great an archon. Those who swear by principles, swear always by some personality or other, if not by a living creature then by a lifeless book, if not by Religion then by Science, if not by the East then by the West, if not by Buddha or Christ then by B entham or Voltaire. Only they do it unwittingly they change one set of personalities for another and believe they have rejected them all. The veils of Maya are a thousand-fold tangle and you think you have entirely escaped her when you have only run away from one fold to fall into another. The wise do not attempt to reject and negate Maya, but consciously accept herfreedom lies in a knowing affirmation. So we too have accepted and affirmed an icon, but we have done it consciously and knowingly; we are not bound by our idol, we see the truth of it, and we serve and utilise it as best as we may.
***
01.11 - The Basis of Unity, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
A modern people is a composite entity, especially with regard to its religious affiliation. Not religion, but culture is the basis of modern collective life, national or social. Culture includes in its grain that fineness of temperam ent which appreciates all truths behind all forms, even when there is a personal allegiance to one particular form.
In India, it is well known, the diversity of affiliations is colossal, sui generis. Two major affiliations have today almost cut the country into two; and desperate remedies are suggested which are worse than the malady itself, as they may kill the pati ent outright. If it is so, it is, I repeat, the mediaeval spirit that is at:, the bottom of the trouble.
--
However, coming to historical times, we see wave after wave of the most heterogeneous and disparate elem entsSakas and Huns and Greeks, each bringing its quota of exotic material enter into the oceanic Indian life and culture, lose their separate foreign id entity and become part and parcel of the common whole. Even so,a single unitary body was formed out of such varied and shifting materialsnot in the political, but in a socio-religious sense. For a catholic religious spirit, not being solely doctrinal and personal, admitted and embraced in its supple and wide texture almost an infinite variety of approaches to the Divine, of forms and norms of apprehending the Beyond. It has been called Hinduism: it is a vast synthesis of multiple affiliations. It expresses the characteristic genius of India and hence Hinduism and Indianism came to be looked upon as synonymous terms. And the same could be defined also as Vedic religion and culture, for its invariable basis the bed-rock on which it stood firm and erectwas the Vedas, the Knowledge seen by the sages. But there had already risen a voice of dissidence and discord that of Buddha, not so much, perhaps, of Buddha as of Buddhism. The Buddhistic enlightenm ent and discipline did not admit the supreme authority of the Vedas; it sought other bases of truth and reality. It was a great denial; and it meant and worked for a vital schism. The denial of the Vedas by itself, perhaps, would not be serious, but it became so, as it was symptomatic of a deeper divergence. Denying the Vedas, the Buddhistic spirit denied life. It was quite a new thing in the Indian consciousness and spiritual discipline. And it left such a stamp there that even today it stands as the dominant character of the Indian outlook. However, India's synthetic genius rose to the occasion and knew how to bridge the chasm, close up the fissure, and pres ent again a body whole and entire. Buddha became one of the Avataras: the discipline of Nirvana and Maya was reserved as the last duty to be performed at the end of life, as the culmination of a full-length span of action and achievem ent; the way to Moksha lay through Dharma and Artha and Kama, Sannyasa had to be built upon Brahmacharya and Garhasthya. The integral ideal was epitomized by Kalidasa in his famous lines about the character of the Raghus:
They devoted themselves to study in their boyhood, in youth they pursued the objects of life; when old they took to spiritual austerities, and in the end they died united with the higher consciousness.
--
And still this was not the lastit could not be the lastanti thesis that had to be synthetized. The dialectical movem ent led to a more serious and fiercer contradiction. The Buddhistic schism was after all a division brought about from within: it could be said that the two terms of the antinomy belonged to the same genus and were commensurable. The idea or experience of Asat and Maya was not unknown to the Upanishads, only it had not there the exclusive stress which the later developm ents gave it. Hence quite a differ ent, an altogether foreign body was imported into what was or had come to be a homogeneous entity, and in a considerable mass.
Unlike the previous irruptions that merged and were lost in the general life and consciousness, Islam entered as a leaven that maintained its integrity and revolutionized Indian life and culture by infusing into its tone a Semitic acc ent. After the Islamic impact India could not be what she was beforea change became inevitable even in the major note. It was a psychological cataclysm almost on a par with the geological one that formed her body; but the spirit behind which created the body was working automatically, inexorably towards the greater and more difficult synthesis demanded by the situation. Only the thing is to be done now consciously, not through an unconscious process of laissez-faire as on the inferior stages of evolution in the past. And that is the true genesis of the pres ent conflict.
History abounds in instances of racial and cultural immixture. Indeed, all major human groupings of today are invariably composite formations. Excepting, perhaps, some primitiveaboriginal tribes there are no pure races exist ent. The Briton, the Dane, the Anglo-Saxon, and the Norman have combined to form the British; a Frenchman has a Gaul, a Roman, a Frank in him; and a Spaniard's blood would show an Iberian, a Latin, a Gothic, a Moorish elem ent in it. And much more than a people, a culture in modern times has been a veritable cockpit of multifarious and even incongruous elem ents. There are instances also in which a perfect fusion could not be accomplished, and one elem ent had to be rejected or crushed out. The complete disappearance of the Aztecs and Mayas in South America, the decadence of the Red Indians in North America, of the Negroes in Africa as a result of a fierce clash with European peoples and European culture illustrate the point.
01.12 - Goethe, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
No problem is so vital to the human consciousness as the problem of Evilits why and wherefore It is verily the Sphinx Riddle. In all ages and in all climes man has tried to answer; the answers are of an immense variety, but none seems to be sure and certain. Goethe's was an ard ent soul seeking to embrace the living truth whole and entire; the problem was not merely of philosophical interest to him, but a burning question of life and deathlife and death of the body and even of the soul.
One view considers Evil as coeval with Good: the Prince of Evil is God's peer, equal to him in all ways, absolutely separate, independ ent and self-exist ent. Light and Darkness are eternal principles living side by side, possessing equal reality. For, although it is permissible to the individual to pass out of the Darkness and enter into Light, the Darkness itself does not disappear: it remains and maintains its domain, and even it is said that some human beings are meant eternally for this domain. That is the Manichean principle and that also is fundam entally the dualistic conception of chit-achit in some Indian systems (although the principle of chit or light is usually given a higher position and priority of excellence).
The Christian too accepts the dual principle, but does not give equal status to the two. Satan is there, an eternal reality: it is anti-God, it seeks to oppose God, frustrate his work. It is the great tempter whose task it is to persuade, to inspire man to remain always an earthly creature and never turn to know or live in God. Now the crucial question that arises is, what is the necessity of this Antagonist in God's scheme of creation? What is the meaning of this struggle and battle? God could have created, if he had chosen, a world without Evil. The orthodox Christi an answer is that in that case one could not have fully appreciated the true value and glory of God's presence. It is to manifest and proclaim the great victory that the strife and combat has been arranged in which Man triumphs in the end and God's work stands vindicated. The place of Satan is always Hell, but he cannot drag down a soul into his pit to hold it there eternally (although according to one doctrine there are or may be certain eternally damned souls).
--
The angels weave the symphony that is creation. They repres ent the various notes and rhythmsin their higher and purer degrees that make up the grand harmony of the spheres. It is magnific ent, this music that moves the cosmos, and wonderful the glory of God manifest therein. But is it absolutely perfect? Is there nowhere any flaw in it? There is a doubting voice that enters a diss enting note. That is Satan, the Antagonist, the Evil One. Man is the weakest link in the chain of the appar ently all-perfect harmony. And Satan boldly proposes to snap it if God only let him do so. He can prove to God that the true nature of his creation is not cosmos but chaos not a harmony in peace and light, but a confusion, a Walpurgis Night. God acquiesces in the play of this appar ent breach and proves in the end that it is part of a wider scheme, a vaster harmony. Evil is rounded off by Grace.
The total eradication of Evil from the world and human nature and the remoulding of a terrestrial life in the substance and pattern of the Highest Good that is beyond all dualities is a conception which it was not for Goe the to envisage. In the order of reality or existence, first there is the consciousness of division, of trenchant separation in which Good is equated with not-evil and evil with not-good. This is the outlook of individualised consciousness. Next, as the consciousness grows and envelops the whole existence, good and evil are both embraced and are found to form a secret and magic harmony. That is the universal or cosmic consciousness. And Goethe's genius seems to be an outflowering of something of this status of consciousness. But there is still a higher status, the status of transcendence in which evil is not simply embraced but dissolved and even transmuted into a supreme reality of which it is an aberration, a reflection or projection, a lower formulation. That is the mystery of a spiritual realisation to which Goe the aspired perhaps, but had not the necessary initiation to enter into.
***
01.12 - Three Degrees of Social Organisation, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The principle of Dharma then inculcates that each individual must, in order to act, find out his truth of being, his true soul and inmost consciousness: one must entirely and integrally merge oneself into that, be id entified with it in such a manner that all acts and feelings and thoughts, in fact all movem ents, inner and outerspontaneously and irrepressibly well out of that fount and origin. The individual souls, being made of one truth-nature in its multiple modalities, when they live, move and have their being in its ess ential law and dynamism, there cannot but be absolute harmony and perfect synthesis between all the units, even as the sun and moon and stars, as the Veda says, each following its specific orbit according to its specific nature, never collide or haltna me thate na tas thatuh but weave out a faultless pattern of symphony.
The future society of man is envisaged as something of like nature. When the mortal being will have found his immortal soul and divine self, then each one will be able to give full and free expression to his self-nature (swabhava); then indeed the utmost sweep of dynamism in each and all will not cause clash or conflict; on the contrary, each will increase the other and there will be a global increm ent and fulfilm entparasparam bhavayantah. The division and conflict, the stress and strain that belong to the very nature of the inferior level of being and consciousness will then have been transcended. It is only thus that a diviner humanity can be born and replace all the other moulds and types that can never lead to anything final and absolutely satisfactory.
01.13 - T. S. Eliot: Four Quartets, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
In these latest poems of his, Eliot has become outright a poet of the Dark Night of the Soul. The beginnings of the new avatar were already there certainly at the very beginning. The Waste Land is a good preparation and passage into the Night. Only, the negative elem ent in it was stronger the cynicism, the bleakness, the sereness of it all was almost overwhelming. The next stage was "The Hollow Men": it took us right up to the threshold, into the very entrance. It was gloomy and fore-boding enough, grim and seriousno glint or hint of the silver lining yet within reach. Now as we find ourselves into the very heart of the Night, things appear somewhat changed: we look at the past indeed, but can often turn to the future, feel the pressure of the Night yet sense the Light beyond overarching and embracing us. This is how the poet begins:
I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you
--
Yes, that is the condition demanded, an entire vacuity in which nothing moves. That is the real Dark Night of the Soul. It is then only that the Grace leans down and descends, then only beams in the sweet Light of lights. Eliot has expressed the experience in these lines of rare beauty and sincerity :
Time and the bell have buried the day,
0.11 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
announcem ent: The supram ental consciousness will enter a phase of realising power in 1967."1
Have things advanced at the required speed?
--
In the human being, is the psychic being the entire soul
or do both the soul (in its essence as a divine spark in all
--
The soul is the Purusha that enters into the evolution.
Is my understanding correct?
--
If you belong entirely and totally to the Divine, then all that belongs to you, all that forms part of your material being, belongs
to the Divine.
--
But if you give yourself entirely and without reserve to the
future, and if this giving is constantly renewed, the past will fall
--
Yes, it means that the entire being is absorbed in its consecration.
24 October 1968
--
It does not go away, but enters the subconsci ent and continues
to act.
0.12 - Letters to a Student, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
one's mind as sil ent as possible, and enter deep into the heart
of one's being, beyond sensations and thoughts. One must form
--
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 instrum ent that can overcome all
0.14 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
We have to open them wide and allow the Infinite to enter us
freely in order to transform us.
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try to enter deep within to discover the Divine Presence in the
depths of your consciousness, beyond all m ental activity.
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the Divine Presence. Therefore, give yourself entirely to the
Divine and you will emerge into the Light.
--
(4) Those who give themselves entirely to the Divine and
live only for Him and through Him. This implies making the
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It is only by giving ourselves entirely to the Divine in perfect
trust and gratitude that the difficulties will be overcome.
0 1955-04-04, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I am not so absurdly pret entious as to blame the divine, nor yourself and I remain quite convinced that all this is my own fault. Undoubtedly I have not known how to surrender totally in some part of myself, or I do not aspire enough or know how to open myself as needed. Also, I should rely entirely upon the divine to take care of my progress and not be concerned about the absence of experiences. I have therefore asked myself why I am so far away from the true attitude, the genuine opening, and I see two main reasons: on the one hand, the difficulties inher ent in my own nature, and on the other, the outer conditions of this sadhana. These conditions do not seem to be conducive to helping me overcome the difficulties in my own nature.
I feel that I am turning in circles and taking one step backward for each one forward. Furthermore, instead of helping me draw nearer to the divine consciousness, my work in the Ashram (the very fact of working for to change work, even if I felt like it, would not change the overall situation), diverts me from this divine consciousness, or at least keeps me in a superficial consciousness from which I am unable to unglue myself as long as I am busy writing letters, doing translations, corrections or classes.1 I know its my own fault, that I should know how to be detached from my work and do it by relying upon a deeper consciousness, but what can be done? Unless I receive the grace, I cannot remember the ess ential thing as long as the outer part of my being is active.
0 1955-10-19, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
2) To unfold ones being before Him, to open entirely ones body from head to toe, as one opens a book, spreading open ones c enters so as to make all their movem ents visible in a total SINCERITY that allows nothing to remain hidden.
3) To nestle in His arms, to melt in Him in a tender and absolute CONFIDENCE.
0 1956-03-19, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
and the body sat up and held itself absolutely straight during the entire class.
***
0 1956-05-02, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
And why should they benefit from it? What entitles them to benefit from it? Simply because they took the train to come here?
I knew some people who came here a long time ago, something like (Oh, I dont recall anymore, but quite a long time ago!), certainly more than tw enty years ago; the first time someone died in the Ashram, they expressed a considerable dissatisfaction: But I came here because I thought this yoga would make me immortal! If you can still die, then why did I come here?
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And thats how it isswapping, bargaining. We are not a commercial enterprise, we have made it clear that we are not doing business.
The number of disciples is increasing now day by day. What does this indicate?
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Individually, each ones goal was to make himself ready, to enter into a more or less intimate individual relationship with this Force, so as to help the process; or else, if he could not help, at least be ready to recognize and be open to the Force when it would manifest. Then instead of being an alien elem ent in a world in which your OWN inner capacity remains unmanifest, you suddenly become THAT, you enter directly, fully, into the very atmosphere: the Force is there, all around you, permeating you.
If you had had a little inner contact, you would have recognized it immediately, dont you think so?
--
There was indeed a possibility to enter into contact with the Thing individuallythis was even what Sri Aurobindo had described as being the necessary procedure: a certain number of people would enter into contact with this Force through their inner effort and their aspiration. We had called it the asc ent towards the Supermind. And IF and when they had touched the Supermind through an inner asc ent (that is, by freeing themselves from the material consciousness), they should have recognized it SPONTANEOUSLY as soon as it came. But a preliminary contact was indispensableif you have never touched it, how can you recognize it?
Thats how the universal movem ent works (I read this to you a few days ago): through their inner effort and inner progress, certain individuals, who are the pioneers, the forerunners, enter into communication with the new Force which is to manifest, and they receive it in themselves. And because a number of calls like this surge forth, the thing becomes possible, and the era, the time, the mom ent for the manifestation comes. This is how it happened and the Manifestation took place.
But then, all those who were ready should have recognized it.
--
But now, you may reply to those people who are asking these insidious questions that the best way to receive anything whatsoever is not to pull, but to give. If they want to give themselves to the new life, well, the new life will enter into them.
But if they want to pull the new life into themselves, they will close the door with their egoism. Thats all.
0 1956-09-12, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
A supram ental entity had entirely possessed me.
Something a little taller than myself: its feet extended below my feet and its head w ent a little beyond my head.
--
And it radiated from me: myriads of little sparks that were penetrating everybody I saw them enter into each one of those pres ent.
One more step.
0 1956-09-14, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
But perhaps you have felt this way because you had left your work in the Ashram for an entirely personal, that is, necessarily egoistical reason, and egoism always isolates one from the great curr ent of universal forces. That is why, too, you no longer clearly perceive my love and my help which nevertheless are always with you.
You asked me what I see and whether your difficulties will not reappear upon your return to the Ashram. It may well be. If you return as you still are at pres ent, it may be that after a very short period it will all begin again. That is why I am going to propose something to you but to accept it you will have to be heroic and very determined in your consecration to my work.
0 1957-07-03, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Its symbolism was very clear, though of quite a familiar nature, as it were, and because of its very familiarity, unmistakable in its realism Were I to tell you all the details, you would probably not even be able to follow: it was rather intricate. It was a kind of (how can I express it?)an immense hotel where all the terrestrial possibilities were lodged in differ ent apartm ents. And it was all in a constant state of transformation: parts or entire wings of the building were suddenly torn down and rebuilt while people were still living in them, such that if you w ent off somewhere within the immense hotel itself, you ran the risk of no longer finding your room when you wanted to return to it, for it might have been torn down and was being rebuilt according to another plan! It was orderly, it was organized yet there was this fantastic chaos which I m entioned. And all this was a symbola symbol that certainly applies to what Sri Aurobindo has written here1 regarding the necessity for the transformation of the body, the type of transformation that has to take place for life to become a divine life.
It w ent something like this: somewhere, in the c enter of this enormous edifice, there was a room reservedas it seemed in the story for a mother and her daughter. The mother was a lady, an elderly lady, a very influ ential matron who had a great deal of authority and her own views concerning the entire organization. Her daughter seemed to have a power of movem ent and activity enabling her to be everywhere at once while at the same time remaining in her room, which was well, a bit more than a roomit was a kind of apartm ent which, above all, had the characteristic of being very c entral. But she was constantly arguing with her mother. The mother wanted to keep things just as they were, with their usual rhythm, which precisely meant the habit of tearing down one thing to rebuild another, then again tearing down that to build still another, thus giving the building an appearance of frightful confusion. But the daughter did not like this, and she had another plan. Most of all, she wanted to bring something completely new into the organization: a kind of super-organization that would render all this confusion unnecessary. Finally, as it was impossible for them to reach an understanding, the daughter left the room to go on a kind of general inspection She w ent out, looked everything over, and then wanted to return to her room to decide upon some final measures. But this is where something rather peculiar began happening.
She clearly remembered where her room was, but each time she set out to go there, either the staircase disappeared or things were so changed that she could no longer find her way! So she w ent here and there, up and down, searched, w ent in and out but it was impossible to find the way to her room! Since all of this assumed a physical appearanceas I said, a very familiar and very common appearance, as is always the case in these symbolic visions there was somewhere (how shall I put it?) the hotels administrative office and a woman who seemed to be the manager, who had all the keys and who knew where everyone was staying. So the daughter w ent to this person and asked her, Could you show me the way to my room?But of course! Easily! Everyone around the manager looked at her as if to say, How can you say that? However, she got up, and with authority asked for a key the key to the daughters roomsaying, I shall take you there. And off she w ent along all kinds of paths, but all so complicated, so bizarre! The daughter was following along behind her very att entively, you see, so as not to lose sight of her. But just as they should have come to the place where the daughters room was supposed to be, suddenly the manageress (let us call her the manageress), both the manageress and her key vanished! And the sense of this vanishing was so acute that at the same time, everything vanished!
0 1957-11-12, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
For the spiritual tests: aspiration, confidence, idealism, enthusiasm and generosity in self-giving.
For the tests stemming from the hostile forces: vigilance, sincerity and humility.
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To conclude, a final recommendation: never pose as an examiner. For while it is good to remember constantly that perhaps one is passing a very important test, it is, on the other hand, extremely dangerous to imagine oneself entrusted with applying tests to others, for that is an open door to the most absurd and harmful vanities. It is not an ignorant human will that decides these things but the Supreme Wisdom.
***
0 1958-01-01, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
The evening I told you these things, I totally id entified myself with Nature and I entered into her play. And this movem ent of id entification brought forth a response, a new kind of intimacy between Nature and myself, a long movem ent of drawing ever nearer which culminated in an experience that came on November 8.
Nature suddenly understood. She understood that this newborn Consciousness does not seek to reject her, but wants to embrace her entirely. She understood that this new spirituality does not stand apart from life, does not timorously recoil before the awesome richness of her movem ent, but on the contrary wants to integrate all her facets. She understood that the supram ental consciousness is not there to diminish her but to make her complete.
Then, from the supreme Reality came this command: Awaken, O Nature, to the joy of collaboration. And suddenly, all Nature rushed forth in an immense bounding of joy, saying, I accept! I will collaborate! And at the same time, there came a calm, an absolute tranquillity, to allow this receptacle, this body, to receive and contain without breaking and without losing anything of the Joy of Nature that was rushing forth in a movem ent of grateful recognition like an overwhelming flood. She accepted, she sawwith all eternity before her that this supram ental consciousness would fulfill her more perfectly and impart a still greater force to her movem ent and more richness, more possibilities to her play.
0 1958-02-03b - The Supramental Ship, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Between the beings of the supram ental world and men, there exists approximately the same gap as between men and animals. Sometime ago, I had the experience of id entification with animal life, and it is a fact that animals do not understand us; their consciousness is so constituted that we elude them almost entirely. And yet I have known domestic animalscats and dogs, but especially catswho made an almost yogic effort of consciousness to understand us. But generally, when they watch us living and acting, they dont understand, they dont SEE US as we are and they suffer because of us. We are a constant enigma to them Only a very tiny part of their consciousness is linked to us. And it is the same for us when we try to look at the supram ental world. Only when the link of consciousness has been built shall we see itand even then, only that part of our being which has undergone the transformation will be capable of seeing it as it isotherwise the two worlds would remain as separate as the animal world and the human world.
The experience I had on February 3 proves this. Before, I had had an individual, subjective contact with the supram ental world, whereas on February 3, I w ent strolling there in a concrete wayas concretely as I used to go strolling in Paris in times pastin a world that EXISTS IN ITSELF, beyond all subjectivity.
0 1958-04-03, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
We are still in Kataragama, and we shall only go up to northern Ceylon, to Jaffna, around the 15th, then return to India towards the beginning of May if the visa problems are settled. Only in India, at the temple of Rameswaram, can I receive the orange robe. I am living here as a sannyasi, but dressed in white, like a Hindu. It is a stark life, nothing more. I have seen however, that truth does not lie in starkness but in a change of consciousness. (Desire always finds a means to entrench itself in very small details and in very petty and stupid, though well-rooted, avidities.)
Mother, I am seeing all the mean pettiness that obstructs your divine work. Destroy my smallness and take me unto you. May I be sincere, integrally sincere.
0 1958-05-10, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Afterwards, when he left and I had to do the Yoga myself, to be able to take his physical place, I could have adopted the attitude of the sage, which is what I did since I was in an unparalleled state of calm when he left. As he left his body and entered into mine, he told me, You will continue, you will go right to the end of the work. It was then that I imposed a calm upon this body the calm of total detachm ent. And I could have remained like that.
But in a way, absolute calm implies withdrawal from action, so a choice had to be made between one or the other. I said to myself, I am neither exclusively this nor exclusively that. And actually, to do Sri Aurobindos work is to realize the Supram ental on earth. So I began that work and, as a matter of fact, this was the only thing I asked of my body. I told it, Now you shall set right everything which is out of order and gradually realize this intermediate supermanhood between man and the supram ental being or, in other words, what I call the superman.
0 1958-05-30, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
As a matter of fact, my tendency is more and more towards something in which the role of these hostile forces will be reduced to that of an examinerwhich means that they are there to test the sincerity of your spiritual quest. These elem ents have a reality in their action and for the workthis is their great reality but when you go beyond a certain region, it all grows dim to such a degree that it is no longer so well defined, so distinct. In the occult world, or rather if you look at the world from the occult point of view, these hostile forces are very real, their action is very real, quite concrete, and their attitude towards the divine realization is positively hostile; but as soon as you go beyond this region and enter into the spiritual world where there is no longer anything but the Divine in all things, and where there is nothing undivine, then these hostile forces become part of the total play and can no longer be called hostile forces: it is only an attitude that they have adoptedor more precisely, it is only an attitude adopted by the Divine in his play.
This again belongs to the dualities that Sri Aurobindo speaks of in (The Synthesis of Yoga, these dualities that are being reabsorbed. I dont know if he spoke of this particular one; I dont think so, but its the same thing. Its again a certain way of seeing. He has written of the Personal-Impersonal duality, Ishwara-Shakti, Purusha-Prakriti but there is still one more: Divine and anti-divine.
0 1958-06-06 - Supramental Ship, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
As for the latest experience,1 I cant say for sure that no one has ever had it, because someone like Ramakrishna, individuals like that, could have had it. But I am not sure, for when I had this experience (not of the divine Presence, which I had already felt in the cells for a long time, but the experience that the Divine ALONE is acting in the body, that He has BECOME the body, yet all the while retaining his character of divine omniscience and omnipotence) well, the whole time it remained actively like that, it was absolutely impossible to have the LEAST disorder in the body, and not only in the body, but IN ALL THE SURROUNDING MATTER. It was as if every object obeyed without even needing to decide to obey: it was automatic. There was a divine harmony in EVERYTHING (it took place in my bathroom upstairs, certainly to demonstrate that it exists in the most trivial things), in everything, constantly. So if that is established in a perman ent way, there CAN NO LONGER be illness it is impossible. There can no longer be accid ents, there can no longer be illness, there can no longer be disorders, and everything should harmonize (probably in a progressive way) just as that was harmonized: all the objects in the bathroom were full of a joyful enthusiasmeverything obeyed, everything!
As it was the first experience, it started to fade slightly when I began having contact with people; but I really had the feeling that it was a first experience, new upon earth. For I have experienced an absolute id entity of the will with the divine Will ever since 1910, it has never left me. It isnt that, its SOMETHING ELSE. It is MATTER BECOMING THE DIVINE. And it really came with the feeling that this thing was happening for the first time upon earth. It is difficult to say for sure, but Ramakrishna died of cancer, and now that I have had the experience, I know in an ABSOLUTE way that this is impossible. If he had decided to go because the Divine wanted him to go, it would have been an orderly departure, in total harmony and with a total will, whereas this illness is a means of disorder.
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It is likely that the greatest resistance will be in the most conscious beings due to a lack of m ental receptivity, due to the mind itself which wants things to continue (as Sri Aurobindo has written) according to its own mode of ignorance. So-called inert matter is much more easily responsive, much moreit does not resist. And I am convinced that among plants, for example, or among animals, the response will be much quicker than among men. It will be more difficult to act upon a very organized mind; beings who live in an entirely crystallized, organized m ental consciousness are as hard as stone! It resists. According to my experience, what is unconscious will certainly follow more easily. It was a delight to see the water from the tap, the mouthwash in the bottle, the glass, the spongeit all had such an air of joy and cons ent! There is much less ego, you see, it is not a conscious ego.
The ego becomes more and more conscious and resistant as the being develops. Very primitive, very simple beings, little children will respond first, because they dont have an organized ego. But these big people! People who have worked on themselves, who have mastered themselves, who are organized, who have an ego made of steel, it will be difficult for them.
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Yes, one enters into another world.
This consciousness here is true in relation to this world as it is, but the other is something else entirely. An adjustm ent is needed for the two to touch, otherwise one jumps from one to the other. And that serves no purpose. A progressive passage has to be built between the two. This means that a whole number of rungs of consciousness are missing. This consciousness here must consciously connect with that consciousness there, which means a multitude of stairs passing from one to the other. Then we will be able to rise up progressively, and the whole will arise.
Its action will be somewhat similar to what is described in the Last Judgm ent, which is an entirely symbolic expression of something that makes us discern between what belongs to the world of falsehood which is destined to disappear and what belongs to this same world of ignorance and inertia but is transformable. One will go to one side and the other to the other side. All that is transformable will be permeated more and more with this new substance and this new consciousness to such an ext ent that it will rise towards it and serve as a link between the two but all that belongs incorrigibly to falsehood and ignorance will disappear. This was also prophesied in the Gita: among what we call the hostile or anti-divine forces, those capable of being transformed will be uplifted and go off towards the new consciousness, whereas all that is irrevocably in darkness or belongs to an evil will shall be destroyed and vanish from the Universe. And a whole part of humanity that has responded to these forces rather too zealously will certainly vanish with them. And this is what was expressed in this concept of the Last Judgm ent.
May 1, 1958.
0 1958-07-02, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
No, but I know all these people, I know them thoroughly! I know Chaitanya, Ramakrishna and Ramdas thoroughly. They are utterly familiar to me. It doesnt bother them. These are people who live with a certain feeling, who have an entirely concrete experience and live in this experience, but they dont care at all if their formation they have not even crystallized it, they leave it like that, vaguecontains things that are mutually contradictory, because, in appearance, they reconcile them. They do not raise any questions, they do not have the need for an absolutely clear vision; their feeling is absolutely clear, and thats enough for them. Ramakrishna was like that; he said the most contradictory things without being bothered in the least, and they are all exactly and equally true.
But this crystal clear vision Sri Aurobindo had, where everything is in its place, where contradictions no longer existthey never soared to that height. This was the thing, this really crystalline, perfect supram ental vision, even from the standpoint of understanding and knowledge. They never w ent that far.
0 1958-07-06, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
For the last, for money, he told me, I still dont know exactly what it depends on. Then one day I entered into trance with this idea in mind, and after a certain journey I came to a place like a subterranean grotto (which means that it is in the subconsci ent, or perhaps even in the inconsci ent) which was the source, the place and the power over money. I was about to enter into this grotto (a kind of inner cave) when I saw, coiled and upright, an immense serp ent, like an all black python, formidable, as big as a seven-story house, who said, You cannot pass!Why not? Let me pass!Myself, I would let you pass, but if I did, they would immediately destroy me.Who, then, is this they?They are the asuric4 powers who rule over money. They have put me here to guard the entrance, precisely so that you may not enter.And what is it that would give one the power to enter? Then he told me something like this: I heard (that is, he himself had no special knowledge, but it was something he had heard from his masters, those who ruled over him), I heard that he who will have a total power over the human sexual impulses (not merely in himself, but a universal power that is, a power enabling him to control this everywhere, among all men) will have the right to enter. In other words, these forces would not be able to prev ent him from entering.
A personal realization is very easy, it is nothing at all; a personal realization is one thing, but the power to control it among all men that is, to control or master such movem ents at will, everywhereis quite another. I dont believe that this condition has been fulfilled. If what the serp ent said is true and if this is really what will vanquish these hostile forces that rule over money, well then, it has not been fulfilled.
--
I am speaking of terrestrial Nature. Through their m ental power, men had the choice and the freedom to make pacts with these extraterrestrial vital forces. There is a whole vital world that has nothing to do with the earth, it is entirely independ ent or prior to earths existence, it is self-exist entwell, they have brought that down here! They have made what we see! And such being the case This is what terrestrial Nature told me: It is beyond my control.
So considering all that, Sri Aurobindo came to the conclusion that only the supram ental power (Mother brings down her hands) as he said, will be able to rule over everything. And when that happens, it will be all overincluding Nature. For a long time, Nature rebelled (I have written about it often). She used to say, Why are you in such a hurry? It will be done one day. But then last year, there was that extraordinary experience.5 And it was because of that experience that I told her, Well, now that we agree, give me some proof; I am asking you for some proofdo it for me. She didnt budge, absolutely nothing.
0 1958-07-19, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Its not a question of being conscious. There is no doubt that man is more evolved than the tiger, but the tiger is more divine than man. One shouldnt confuse things. These are two entirely differ ent things.
The Divine is everywhere, in everything. We should never forget itnot for a second should we forget it. He is everywhere, in everything; and in an unconscious but spontaneous, therefore sincere, way, all that exists below the m ental manifestation is divine, without mixture; in other words, it exists spontaneously and in harmony with its nature. It is man with his mind who has introduced the idea of guilt. Naturally, he is much more conscious! Theres no question about it, its a fact, although what we call consciousness (what we call it, that is, what man calls consciousness) is the power to objectify and m entalize things. It is not the true consciousness, but its what men call consciousness. So according to the human mode, it is obvious that man is much more conscious than the animal, but the human brings in sin and perversion which do not exist outside of this state we call consciouswhich in fact is not conscious but merely consists in m entalizing things and in having the ability to objectify them.
0 1958-07-23, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
But the Supreme Lord answers that the comedy is not entirely played out, and He adds: Wait for the last act; undoubtedly you will change your mind.
***
0 1958-08-12, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Behind all the appearances and diverse entities, I am always pres ent near you, and my love enfolds you.
I have put the work aside and shall be happy to do it with you upon your return.
0 1958-09-16 - OM NAMO BHAGAVATEH, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I had a mantra in French before coming to Pondicherry. It was Dieu de bont et de misricorde [God of kindness and mercy], but what it means is usually not understoodit is an entire program, a universal program. I have been repeating this mantra since the beginning of the c entury; it was the mantra of ascension, of realization. At pres ent, it no longer comes in the same way, it comes rather as a memory. But it was deliberate, you see; I always said Dieu de bont et de misricorde, because even then I understood that everything is the Divine and the Divine is in all things and that it is only we who make a distinction between what is or what is not the Divine.
My experience is that, individually, we are in relationship with that aspect of the Divine which is not necessarily the most in conformity with our natures, but which is the most ess ential for our developm ent or the most necessary for our action. For me, it was always a question of action because, personally, individually, each aspiration for personal developm ent had its own form, its own spontaneous expression, so I did not use any formula. But as soon as there was the least little difficulty in action, it sprang forth. Only long afterwards did I notice that it was formulated in a certain way I would utter it without even knowing what the words were. But it came like this: Dieu de bont et de misricorde. It was as if I wanted to eliminate from action all aspects that were not this one. And it lasted for I dont know, more than tw enty or tw enty-five years of my life. It came spontaneously.
Just rec ently one day, the contact became entirely physical, the whole body was in great exaltation, and I noticed that other lines were spontaneously being added to this Dieu de bont et de misricorde, and I noted them down. It was a springing forth of states of consciousness not words.
Seigneur, Dieu de bont et de misricorde
--
It rose up from here (Mother indicates the solar plexus), like this: Om Namo Bhagavateh OM NAMO BHAGAVATEH OM NAMO BHAGAVATEH. It was formidable. For the entire quarter of an hour that the meditation lasted, everything was filled with Light! In the deeper tones it was of golden bronze (at the throat level it was almost red) and in the higher tones it was a kind of opaline white light: OM NAMO BHAGAVATEH, OM NAMO BHAGAVATEH, OM NAMO BHAGAVATEH.
The other day (I was in my bathroom upstairs), it came; it took hold of the entire body. It rose up in the same way, and all the cells were trembling. And with such a power! So I stopped everything, all movem ent, and I let the thing grow. The vibration w ent on expanding, ever widening, as the sound itself was expanding, expanding, and all the cells of the body were seized with an intensity of aspiration as if the entire body were swellingit became overwhelming. I felt that it would all burst.
I understood those who withdraw from everything to live that totally.
0 1958-10-04, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
For people here in the Ashram, my work is not the same. It is more like a kind of atmosphere that extends everywherea very conscious atmospherewhich I let work for each one according to his need. I dont have a special action for each person, unless something requires my special att ention. When I would tune into you while you were travelling, I clearly saw your image appear before me, as though you were looking at me, but now that you have returned here, I no longer see it. Rather, I receive a sensation or an impression; and as these sensations and impressions are innumerable, its rather like one elem ent among many. It no longer imposes itself in such an entirely distinct way nor does it appear before me in the same manner, as a clear image of yourself, as though you wanted to know something.
As soon as I am alone, I enter into a very deep conc entration,a state of consciousness, a kind of universal activity. Is it deep? What is it? It is far beyond all the m ental regions, far, far beyond, and it is constant. As soon as I am alone or resting somewhere, thats how it is.
The other day when I was in this state of conc entration, I had the vision that I m entioned to you. I felt I was being pulled, that something was pulling me and trying to draw my att ention. I felt it very strongly. So I opened my eyes, my m ental eyes (the physical eyes may remain opened or closed, it makes no difference either way; when I am conc entrated, things on the physical plane no longer exist), I deliberately opened the minds eyes, for that is where I felt myself being pulled, and then I had this vision I told you of. Someone was trying to draw my att ention, to tell me something. It takes someone really quite powerful, with a very great power of conc entration, to do thatthere are certainly a great many people here and elsewhere who try to do this, yet I dont feel a thing.3
--
When you asked me if X4 were thinking of me, I consulted my atmosphere and saw that it was true, that even many times a day Xs thoughts were coming. So I know that he is conc entrating on me, or something: it simply passes through me, and I answer automatically. But I dont particularly pay att ention to X, unless you ask me a question about him, in which case I deliberately tune into him, then observe and determine whether its like this or like that. Whereas this vision the other day was something that thrust itself on me; I was in another region altogether, in my inner contemplation, my conc entrationa very strong conc entrationwhen I was forced to enter into contact with this being whose vision I had and who was obviously a very powerful being. After telling me what he had to tell me, he w ent away in a very peculiar way, not at all suddenly as most people appear and disappear, not at all like that. When I first saw him, there was a living form the being himself was there but upon leaving (probably to see the effect, to find out whether he had truly succeeded in making himself understood), he left behind a kind of image of himself. Afterwards, this image blurred and it left only a silhouette, an outline, then it disappeared altogether leaving only an impression. That was the last thing I saw. So I kept the impression and analyzed it to find out exactly what was involved; all this was filed away, and then it was over. I began my conc entration once again.
I int entionally carry everybody in my active consciousness for the work, and I do the work consciously; but the ext ent to which people in the world, or those who are here in the Ashram, are conscious of this or receive the results depends upon them, though not exclusively.
--
Naturally, the reception is always incomplete or partially modified; when it passes through the individuality, it becomes narrowed, a personal thing. It seems impossible for each one to have a consciousness vast enough to see the thing in its entirety.
You said that our way of receiving your work or becoming conscious of it does not exclusively depend upon us. What do you mean?
--
Before, I always had the negative experience of the disappearance of the ego, of the oneness of Creation, where everything implying separation disappearedan experience that, personally, I would call negative. Last Wednesday, while I was speaking (and thats why at the end I could no longer find my words), I seemed suddenly to have left this negative phenomenon and entered into the positive experience: the experience of BEING the Supreme Lord, the experience that nothing exists but the Supreme Lordall is the Supreme Lord, there is nothing else. And at that mom ent, the feeling of this infinite power that has no limit, that nothing can limit, was so overwhelming that all the functions of the body, of this m ental machine that summons up words, all this was I could no longer speak French. Perhaps the words could have come to me in Englishprobably, because it was easier for Sri Aurobindo to express himself in English, and thats how it must have happened: it was the part embodied in Sri Aurobindo (the part of the Supreme that was embodied in Sri Aurobindo for its manifestation) that had the experience. This is what joined back with the Origin and caused the experience I was well aware of it. And that is probably why its transcription through English words would have been easier than through French words (for at these mom ents, such activities are purely mechanical, rather like automatic machines). And naturally the experience left something behind. It left the sense of a power that can no longer be qualified,5 really. And it was there yesterday evening.
The difficultyits not even a difficulty, its just a kind of precaution that is taken (automatically, in fact) in order to For example, the volume of Force that was to be expressed in the voice was too great for the speech organ. So I had to be a little att entive that is, there had to be a kind of filtering in the outermost expression, otherwise the voice would have cracked. But this isnt done through the will and reason, its automatic. Yet I feel that the capacity of Matter to contain and express is increasing with phenomenal speed. But its progressive, it cant be done instantly. There have often been people whose outer form broke because the Force was too strong; well, I clearly see that it is being dosed out. After all, this is exclusively the concern of the Supreme Lord, I dont bother about itits not my concern and I dont bother about itHe makes the necessary adjustm ents. Thus it comes progressively, little by little, so that no fundam ental disequilibrium occurs. It gives the impression that ones head is swelling so tremendously it will burst! But then if there is a mom ent of stillness, it adapts; gradually, it adapts.
0 1958-10-06, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Certain relationships are entirely within me, entirely. It is not a relationship between individuals, but a relationship between states of beingwhich means that with the same individual there may be many differ ent relationships. If it were a single whole but I am still not sure if there is a single person with whom the relationship is global.
So there are parts which are entirely within me, entirely there is no difference; they are myself. There are other parts with which I am conscious of an exchangea very familiar, very intimate exchange. And there are parts outside of me with which I still have relationships, not exactly as with strangers but merely as acquaintances; it is still necessary to observe their reactions in order to do the correct thing. And the ratio between these differ ent parts is naturally differ ent depending upon the differ ent individuals.
***
0 1958-10-10, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
For example, this question of PowerTHE Powerover Matter. Those who perceive me as the eternal, universal Mother and Sri Aurobindo as the Avatar are surprised that our power is not absolute. They are surprised that we have not merely to say, Let it be thus for it to be thus. This is because, in the integral realization, the union of the two is ess ential: a union of the power that proceeds from the eternal position and the power that proceeds from the sadhana through evolutionary growth. Similarly, how is it that those who have reached even the summits of yogic knowledge (I was thinking of Swami) need to resort to beings like gods or demigods to be able to realize things?Because they have indeed united with certain higher forces and entities, but it was not decreed since the beginning of time that they were this particular being. They were not born as this or that, but through evolution they united with a lat ent possibility in themselves. Each one carries the Eternal within himself, but one can join Him only when one has realized the complete union of the lat ent Eternal with the eternal Eternal.
And this explains everything, absolutely everything: how it works, how it functions in the world.3 I was saying to myself, But I have no powers, I have no powers! Several days ago, I said, But after all, I KNOW WHO is there, I know, yet how is it that ? There, up to there (the level of the head), it is all-powerful, nothing can resist but here it is ineffective. So those who have faith, even an ignorant but real faith (it can be ignorant but nevertheless it is real), say, What! How can you have no powers? Because the sadhana is not yet over.
--
Mother added: 'The most beautiful part of the experience is missing... When I try to formulate something in too precise a way, all the vastness of the experience evaporates. The entire world is being revealed in all its organization down to the minutest details but everything simultaneouslyhow can that be explained? It's not possible.'
***
0 1958-11-02, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
All this together constitutes one collective entity, and the individual is lost in it. If I had to deal with this person or that person individually, it would be differ ent. But all together, taking them all together as a collective entity, well, its not brilliant.
Mother is referring to the Ashram as a collectivity.
0 1958-11-04 - Myths are True and Gods exist - mental formation and occult faculties - exteriorization - work in dreams, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
It should be said that we are speaking of the Puranic gods, because the Christians, for example, do not understand what this can mean. They have an entirely differ ent conception of the gods.
It could apply to the old Greek mythology, though.
--
All these zones, these planes of reality, received differ ent names and were classified in differ ent ways according to the occult schools, according to the differ ent traditions, but there is an ess ential similarity, and if we go back far enough into the various traditions, hardly anything but words differ, depending upon the country and the language. The descriptions are quite similar. Moreover, those who climb back up the ladderor in other words, a human being who, through his occult knowledge, goes out of one of his bodies (they are called sheaths in English) and enters into a more subtle bodyin order to ACT in a more subtle body and so forth, twelve times (you make each body come out from a more material body, leaving the more material body in its corresponding zone, and then go off through successive exteriorizations), what they have seen, what they have discovered and seen through their ascensionwhe ther they are occultists from the Occid ent or occultists from the Ori entis for the most part analogous in description. They have put differ ent words on it, but the experience is very analogous.
There is the whole Chaldean tradition, and there is also the Vedic tradition, and there was very certainly a tradition anterior to both that split into two branches. Well, all these occult experiences have been the same. Only the description differs depending upon the country and the language. The story of creation is not told from a metaphysical or psychological point of view, but from an objective point of view, and this story is as real as our stories of historical periods. Of course, its not the only way of seeing, but it is just as legitimate a way as the others, and in any ev ent, it recognizes the concrete reality of all these divine beings. Even now, the experiences of Western occultists and those of Eastern occultists exhibit great similarities. The only difference is in the way they are expressed, but the manipulation of the forces is the same.
--
So personally, I am convinced that there was indeed a tradition anterior to both these traditions containing a knowledge very close to an integral knowledge. Certainly, there is a similarity in the experiences. When I came here and told Sri Aurobindo certain things I knew from the occult standpoint, he always said that it conformed to the Vedic tradition. And as for certain occult practices, he told me that they were entirely tantric and I knew nothing at that time, absolutely nothing, neither the Vedas nor the Tantras.
So very probably there was a tradition anterior to both. I have recollections (for me, these are always things I have LIVED), very clear, very distinct recollections of a time that was certainly VERY anterior to the Vedic times and to the Cabala, to the Chaldean tradition.
--
All these regions, all these realms are filled with beings who exist separately in their own realms, and if you are awake and conscious on a given plane for example, if while going out of a more material body you awaken on some higher planeyou can have the same relationship with the things and people of that plane as with the things and people of the material world. In other words, there exists an entirely objective relationship that has nothing to do with your own idea of things. Naturally, the resemblance becomes greater and greater as you draw nearer the physical world, the material world, and there is even a mom ent when one region can act directly upon the other. In any case, in what Sri Aurobindo calls the kingdoms of the overmind, you find a concrete reality entirely independ ent of your personal experience; whenever you come back to it, you again find the same things, with some differences that may have occurred DURING YOUR ABSENCE. And your relationships with the beings there are id entical to those you have with physical beings, except that they are more flexible, more supple and more direct (for example, there is a capacity to change the outer form, the visible form, according to your inner state), but you can make an appointm ent with someone, come to the meeting and again find the same being, with only certain differences that may have occurred during your absence but it is absolutely concrete, with absolutely concrete results.
However, you must have at least a little experience of these things to understand them. Otherwise, if you are convinced that all this is just human fancy or m ental formations, if you believe that these gods have such and such a form because men have imagined them to be like that, or that they have such and such defects or qualities because men have envisioned it that wayas with all those who say God is created in the image of man and exists only in human thoughtall such people wont understand, it will seem absolutely ridiculous to them, a kind of madness. You must live a little, touch the subject a little to know how concrete it is.
Naturally, children know a great dealif they have not been spoiled. There are many children who return to the same place night after night and continue living a life they have begun there. When these faculties are not spoiled with age, they can be preserved within one. There was a time when I was especially interested in dreams, and I could return exactly to the same place and continue some work I had begun there, visit something, for example, or see to something, some work of organization or some discovery or exploration; you go to a certain place, just as you go somewhere in life, then you rest a while, then you go back and begin againyou take up your work just where you left it, and you continue. You also notice that there are things entirely independ ent of you, certain variations which were not at all created by you and which occurred automatically during your absence.
But then, you must LIVE these experiences yourself; you yourself must see, you must live them with enough sincerity to see (by being sincere and spontaneous) that they are independ ent of any m ental formations. Because one can take the opposite line and make an intensive study of the way m ental formations act upon ev entswhich is very interesting. But thats another field. And this study makes you very careful, very prud ent, because you start noticing to what ext ent you can delude yourself. Therefore, both one and the other, the m ental formation and the occult reality, must be studied to see what the ESS entIAL difference is between them. The one exists in itself, entirely independ ent of what we think about it, and the other
That was a grace. I was given every experience without knowing ANYTHING of what it was all aboutmy mind was absolutely blank. There was no active correspondence in the formative mind. I only knew about what had happened or the laws governing these happenings AFTERWARDS, when I was curious and inquired to find out what it related to. Then I found out. But otherwise, I didnt know. So that was the clear proof that these things existed entirely outside of my imagination or thought.
It doesnt happen very frequ ently in this world. And thats why these experiences, which otherwise seem quite natural, quite obvious, appear to be extravagant fancies to people who know nothing.
--
Once you have worked in this field, you realize that when you have studied a subject, when you have m entally understood something, it gives a special tonality to the experience. The experience may be quite spontaneous and sincere, but the simple fact of having known this subject and of having studied it gives a particular tonality; on the other hand, if you have learned nothing of the subject, if you know nothing at all, well, when the experience comes, the notation of it is entirely spontaneous and sincere. It can be more or less adequate, but it is not the result of a former m ental formation.
What happened in my life is that I never studied or knew things until AFTER having the experienceonly BECAUSE OF the experience and because I wanted to understand it would I study things related to it.
--
To give another comparison, it could be said that the physical body is at the c enterit is the most material and the most condensed, as well as the smallestand the more subtle inner bodies increasingly overlap the limits of this c entral physical body; they pass through it and extend further and further out, like water evaporating from a porous vase which creates a kind of steam all around it. And the more subtle it is, the more its extension tends to fuse with that of the universe: you finally become universal. It is an entirely concrete process that makes the invisible worlds an objective experience and even allows you to act in those worlds.
In Sri Aurobindo's and Mother's terminology, 'psychic' or 'psychic being' means the soul or the portion of the Supreme in man which evolves from life to life until it becomes a fully self-conscious being. The soul is a special capacity or grace of human beings on earth.
0 1958-11-08, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
At the very bottom of the inconscience most hard and rigid Because generally, the inconscience gives the impression, precisely, of something amorphous, inert, formless, drab and gray (when formerly I entered the zones of the inconsci ent, that was the first thing I encountered). But this was an inconscience it was hard, rigid, COAGULATED, as if coagulated to resist: all effort slides off it, doesnt touch it, cannot penetrate it. So I am putting, most hard and rigid and narrow (the idea of something that compresses, compresses, compresses you) and stiflingyes, stifling is the word.
I struck upon an almighty spring that cast me up forthwith into a formless, limitless vast, generator of all creation. It was yes, I have the feeling that it was not the ordinary creation, the primordial creation, but the SUPRAM entAL creation, for it bore no similarity to the experience of returning to the Supreme, the origin of everything. I had utterly the feeling of being cast into the origin of the supram ental creation something that is already (how can it be expressed?) objectified from the Supreme, with the explicit goal of the supram ental creation.
0 1958-11-15, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
The quality or the kind of relationship I had with the Supreme at that mom ent was entirely differ ent from the one we have hereeven the id entification had a differ ent quality. One can very well understand that all the lower movem ents are differ ent but this id entification by which the Supreme governs and lives in us was the summit of our experience herewell, the way He governs and lives is differ ent depending on whether we are in this hemisphere here or in the supram ental life. And at that mom ent (the experience of November 13), what made the experience so intense was that I came to perceive vaguely both these states of consciousness at once. It was almost as if the Supreme Himself were differ ent, or our experience of Him. And yet, in both cases, it was a contact with the Supreme. It is probably how we perceive Him or the way in which we translate it that differs, but the fact is that the quality of the experience is differ ent.
In the other hemisphere, there is an intensity and a plenitude which are translated by a power differ ent from the one here. How can I formulate it?I cannot.
--
When we begin living the spiritual life, a reversal of consciousness takes place which for us is the proof that we have entered the spiritual life; well, yet another occurs when we enter the supram ental world.
And probably each time a new world opens up, there will again be a new reversal. This is why even our spiritual life, which is such a total reversal compared to ordinary life, seems something still so so totally differ ent when compared to this supram ental consciousness that the values are almost opposite.
It can be expressed in this way (but its quite approximate, more than diminished or deformed): its as if our entire spiritual life were made of silver, whereas the supram ental life is made of goldas if our entire spiritual life here were a vibration of silver, not gold but simply a light, a light that goes right to the summit, an absolutely pure light, pure and intense; but in the other, in the supram ental world, there is a richness and a power that make all the difference. This whole spiritual life of the psychic being and of all our pres ent consciousness that appears so warm, so full, so wonderful, so luminous to the ordinary consciousness, well, all this splendor seems poor in comparison to the splendor of the new world.
I can explain the phenomenon like this: successive reversals such that an EVER NEW richness of creation will take place from stage to stage, making whatever came before seem so poor in comparison. What to us seems supremely rich compared to our ordinary life, appears so poor compared to this new reversal of consciousness. Such was my experience.
Last night, my effort to understand what was missing in order to help you completely and truly come out of the difficulty reminded me of what I said the other day about Power, the transforming power, the true realizing power, the supram ental power. When you enter that, when you suddenly surge into that Thing, then you seeyou see that it is truly almighty in comparison to what we are here. So once again, I touched it, I experienced both states simultaneously.
But as long as this is not an accomplished fact, it will still be a progressiona progression, an ascension; you gain a little, you gain some ground, you rise higher and higher. But as long as the new reversal has not taken place, its as if everything had still to be done. It is a repetition of the experience below, reproduced above.
--
And each time, you have the feeling of having lived on the surface of things. Its a feeling that is repeated over and over again. With each new conquest, you feel that until then you had lived only on the surface of thingson the surface of the realization, on the surface of surrender, on the surface of power. It was only the surface of things, the surface of the experience. Behind the surface, there is a depth, and only when one enters into this depth does one touch the True Thing. And it is the same experience each time: what seemed a depth becomes the surface. A surface, with all that it entails of inaccuracy, yes, of artificialityartificialan artificial transcription. It feels like something not really alive, a copy, an imitation: its an image, a reflection, but not THE Thing itself. You step into another zone and you feel you have uncovered the Source and the Power and the Truth of things; then this source and power and truth in turn become an appearance, an imitation, a mere transcription in comparison to something concrete: the new realization.
(silence)
0 1958-11-22, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
This is how it works: the psychic being passes from one life to another, but there are cases in which the psychic incarnates in order to to work out2 to pass through a certain experience, to learn a certain thing, to develop a certain thing through a certain experience. And so in this life, in the life where the experience is to be made, it can happen (there may be more than one reason) that the soul does not come down accurately in the place it should have, some shift or other may occur, a set of contrary circumstancesthis happens sometimesand then the incarnation miscarries entirely and the soul leaves. But in other cases, the soul is simply placed in the impossibility of doing exactly what it wants and it finds itself swept away by unfortunate circumstances. Not only unfortunate from an objective standpoint, but unfortunate for its own developm ent, and then that creates in it the necessity to begin the experience all over again, and in much more difficult conditions.
And ifit can happenif the second attempt also miscarries, if the conditions make the experience the soul is seeking still more difficult for example, if one is in a body with an inadequate will or some distortion in the thought, or an egoism too too hardened, and it ends in suicide, it is dreadful. I have seen this many times, it creates a dreadful karma that can be repeated for lifetimes on end before the soul can conquer it and manage to do what it wants. And each time, the conditions become more difficult, each time it requires a still greater effort. And people who know this say, You cannot get out! In fact, it is this kind of desire to escape which pushes you into more foolish things3 that result in a still greater accumulation of difficulty. There are mom entsmom ents and circumstanceswhen no one is there to help you, and then things become so horrible, the circumstances become so abominable.
0 1958-11-27 - Intermediaries and Immediacy, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
One day I had m entioned this to X1 when he was showing me or describing to me the differ ent movem ents of the pujas, the procedure, the process of the puja. I said to him, Oh, I see! For the action to be immediate, for the result to be immediate, one must acknowledge, for example, the role or the participation of certain spirits or certain forces and enter into a friendly relationship or collaboration with these forces in order to obtain an immediate result, is it not so? Then he told me, Yes, otherwise it leaves an indefinite time to the play of the forces, and you dont know when you will get the result of your puja.
That interested me very much. Because one of the obstacles I had felt was that although the Force was acting well, there was a time lag that appeared inevitable, a time elem ent in the work which seemed unavoidablea play left to the forces of Nature. But with their knowledge of the processes, the tantrics can dispense with all that. So I understood why those who have studied, who are initiated and follow the prescribed methods are appar ently more powerfulmore powerful even than those who are conscious in the highest consciousness.
--
It is like the story X told me of his guru2 who could comm and the coming of Kali (something which seems quite natural to me when one is suffici ently developed); well, not only could he commend the coming of Kali, but Kali with I dont know how many crores of her warriors! For me, Kali was Kali, after all, and she did her work; but in the universal organization, her action, the innumerable multiplicity of her action, is expressed by an innumerable multitude of conscious entities at work. It is this individualization, as it were, that gives to these forces a consciousness and a certain play of freedom, and this is what makes all the difference in action. It is in this respect that the occult system is an absolutely indispensable complem ent to spiritual action.
The spiritual action is direct, but it may not be immediate (anyway, thats my experience). Sri Aurobindo said that with the supram ental presence, it becomes immediate and I have experienced this. But this would then mean that the supram ental Power automatically commands all these intermediaries, whereas if its not pres ent, even the highest spiritual power would need a specialized knowledge to act in this realm, a knowledge equival ent to an occult or initiatory knowledge of all these realms. This is why I told X, Well, you taught me many things while you were here. There is always something to learn.
0 1958-12-28, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
P.S. I shall propose to Swami to enter into contact with them at 8:45 p.m., if this time suits them.
***
0 1959-01-06, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
His action upon you is to continue for another five days, after which he is positive that you will be entirely saved. According to him, it is indeed a magic attack originating in Pondicherry, and perhaps even from someone in the Ashram!! He told me that this evil person would finally be forced to appear before you I am learning many interesting things from him.
Mother, by way of expressing to you my gratitude, I want to work now to open myself totally to your Light and become truly an egoless instrum ent, your conscious instrum ent. Mother, you are the sole Reality.
--
The pain on the left side has not entirely gone and there have been some complications which have delayed things. But I feel much better. In fact, I am rebuilding my health, and I am in no hurry to resume the exhausting days as before. It is quiet upstairs for working, and I am going to take advantage of this to prepare the Bulletin1 at leisure. As I had not read over the pages on the message that we had prepared for the 31st, I have revised and transformed them into an article. It will be the first one in the February issue. I am now going to choose the others. I will tell you which ones I have chosen and in what order I will put them.
Satprem, my child, I am truly with you and I love you.
0 1959-01-21, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Sweet Mother, may my entire life be at your service, may my entire being belong to you. I owe you everything.
With love and gratitude, I am your child.
0 1959-01-27, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Apart from this, he has not yet entirely finished the work of purging that he has been doing on me for over a month, but I believe that everything will be completed in a short time from now.
Sweet Mother, I have a kind of fear that all these mantras are not bringing me nearer to you I mean you in your physical body, for it is not upon you physically that I was told to conc entrate. Also, I almost never see you in my dreams any longer, or else only very vaguely. Last night, I dreamed that I was offering you flowers (not very pretty ones), one of which was called mantra, but I did not see you in my dream. Mother, I would like to be true, to do the right thing, to be as you want me to be.
--
All is well I am enthusiastic and you can count on my conscious help to overcome all the obstacles and all the bad will that may try to stop or delay your progress. It is a matter of being more obstinate, much more obstinate than the enemy, and whatever the cost, to reach the goal in time.
Since my last letter, I have thought about it and I see that I will be able to go down in the morning three times a week for one hour, from 10 to 11, to work with you, but you will have to do only the strict minimum in order to have as much free time as you need for the other things.1
0 1959-01-31, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
P.S. All the old Questions and Answers will also have to be revised with you, perhaps not in their entirety, but certain problems need clarification. What a grace to be able to work with you!
***
0 1959-03-10 - vital dagger, vital mass, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I sp ent a nighta night of battlewhen, for some reason or other, a multitude of vital formations of all kinds entered into the room: beings, things, embryos of beings, residues of beingsall kinds of things And it was a frightful assault, absolutely disgusting.
In this swarming mass, I noticed the presence of some slightly more conscious willswills of the vital plane and I saw how they try to awaken a reaction in the consciousness of human beings to make them think or want, or if possible, do certain things.
--
When you see them, oh! its suffocating. When youre in contact with that Really, you wonder how anyone can brea the in such an atmosphere. And yet people CONSTANTLY live in that atmosphere! They live in it. Only when they rise above are they NOT in it. Or else there are those who are entirely below; but those are the toys of these things, and their reactions are sometimes not only unexpected but absolutely dreadfulbecause they are puppets in the hands of these things.
Those who rise above, who enter into a slightly intellectual region, can see all this from above; they can look down at it all, keep their heads above and breathe; but those who live in this realm
Sri Aurobindo calls this realm the intermediate zone, a zone in which, he says, you can have all the experiences you wish if you enter into it. But it isnt (laughing) very advisable!and I understand why! I had that experience because I had just read what Sri Aurobindo says on this subject in a letter in this latest book, On Yoga; I wanted to see for myself what it was. Ah, I understood!
And I express this in my own way when I say1 that thoughts come and go, flow in and out. But thoughts concerning material things are formations originating in that world, they are kinds of wills coming from the vital plane which try to express themselves, and most often they are truly deadly. If you are annoyed, for example, if someone says something unpleasant to you and you react It always happens in the same way; these little entities are there waiting, and when they feel its the right mom ent, they introduce their influence and their suggestions. This is what is vitally symbolized by the being with his dagger rushing forward to stab youand in the back, at that! Not even face to face! This then expresses itself in the human consciousness by a movem ent of anger or rage or indignation: How intolerable! How ! And the other fellow says, Yes! We shall put an end to it!
It is quite interesting to watch it once, but it isnt very pleasant.
0 1959-03-26 - Lord of Death, Lord of Falsehood, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
This Titan has been specially s ent to attack this body, but he cant do it directly, so he uses people in my entourage. It is something fated: all those around me, who are close to me, and especially those capable of love, have been attacked by him; a few have succumbed, such as that girl in my entourage who was absorbed by him. He follows me like a shadow, and each time there is the least little opening in someone near me, he is there.
The power of this Titan comes from an Asura. There are four Asuras. Two have already been converted, and the other two, the Lord of Death and the Lord of Falsehood, made an attempt at conversion by taking on a physical bodythey have been intimately associated with my life. The story of these Asuras would be very interesting to recount The Lord of Death disappeared; he lost his physical body, and I dont know what has become of him.1 As for the other, the Lord of Falsehood, the one who now rules over this earth, he tried hard to be converted, but he found it disgusting!
0 1959-05-19 - Ascending and Descending paths, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
The thing can still be brought down as far as the m ental and vital planes (although Sri Aurobindo said that thousands of lifetimes would be needed merely to bring it down to the m ental plane, unless one practiced a perfect surrender1). With Sri Aurobindo, we w ent down below Matter, right into the Subconsci ent and even into the Inconsci ent. But after the desc ent comes the transformation, and when you come down to the body, when you attempt to make it take one step forwardoh, not even a real step, just a little step!everything starts grating; its like stepping on an anthill And yet the presence, the help of the supreme Mother, is there constantly; thus you realize that for ordinary men such a task is impossible, or else millions of lives would be needed but in truth, unless the work is done for them and the sadhana of the body done for the entire earth consciousness, they will never achieve the physical transformation, or else it will be so remote that it is better not even to speak of it. But if they open themselves, if they give themselves over in an integral surrender, the work can be done for themthey have only to let it be done.
The path is difficult. And yet this body is full of good will; it is filled with the psychic in every one of its cells. Its like a child. The other day, it cried out quite spontaneously, O my Sweet Lord, give me the time to realize You! It did not ask to hasten the process, it did not ask to lighten its work; it only asked for enough TIME to do the work. Give me the time!
0 1959-05-28, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I have read your letter in its entirety and I remain convinced that one day all the parts of your being, without excluding any, will be fully satisfied. But we shall see about that later.
For the mom ent, I only want to tell you, from the bottom of my heartwhich is so deeply touchedthank you.
--
I did not utter the words that you heard I wanted to speak to you of my experience during the night, but I was paralyzed because I clearly felt that you no longer understood me. As soon as I received your letter, I conc entrated on you in an effort to help you, and when night fell, just at the hour I enter into contact with X, I called for his helpwhereupon he s ent me this little Kali whom he had already s ent once before. So I w ent to your house, I took you in my arms and pressed you tightly to my heart to keep you as sheltered as possible from blows, and I let Kali do her warrior dance against this titan who is always trying to possess you, creating this rebelliousness in you. She must have at least partially succeeded in her work, because very early in the morning the titan w ent away somewhat discomfited, but while leaving, he flung this at me as he w ent by: You will regret it, for you would have had less trouble if he had left. I flung his suggestion back in his face with a laugh and told him, Take that, along with all the rest of your ugly person! I have no need of it! And the atmosphere cleared up.
I wanted to tell you all this, but I couldnt because you were still far away from me and it would have seemed like boasting. Also the misunderstanding created by the distance made you hear other words than those I uttered.
0 1959-06-03, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Also, I explained to him that a mantra had come to you which you were repeating between 5 and 6 in particular, and I told him about this culminating point where you wanted to express your gratitude, enthusiasm, etc., and about the French mantra. After explaining, I gave him your French and Sanskrit texts. He felt and understood very well what you wanted. His first reaction after reading it was to say, Great meaning, great power is there. It is all right. I told him that apart from the meaning of the mantra, you wanted to know if it was all right from the vibrational standpoint. He told me that he would take your text to his next puja and would repeat it himself to see. He should have done that this morning, but he has a fever (since his return from Madurai, he has not been well because of a cold and sunstroke). I will write you as soon as I know the result of his test.
Regarding me, this is more or less what he said: First of all, I want an agreem ent from you so that under any circumstances you never leave the Ashram. Whatever happens, even if Yama1 comes to dance at your door, you should never leave the Ashram. At the critical mom ent, when the attack is the strongest, you should throw everything into His hands, then and then only the thing can be removed (I no longer know whether he said removed or destroyed ). It is the only way. SARVAM MAMA BRAHMAN [Thou art my sole refuge]. Here in Rameswaram, we are going to meditate together for 45 days, and the Asuric-Shakti may come with full strength to attack, and I shall try my best not only to protect but to destroy, but for that, I need your determination. It is only by your own determination that I can get strength. If the force comes to make suggestions: lack of adv enture, lack of Nature, lack of love, then think that I am the forest, think that I am the sea, think that I am the wife (!!) Meanwhile, X has nearly doubled the number of repetitions of the mantra that I have to say every day (it is the same mantra he gave me in Pondicherry). X repeated to me again and again that I am not merely a disciple to him, like the others, but as if his son.
0 1959-06-07, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
1) X spoke to me of the Vedic times when a single emperor or sage ruled the entire world with the help of governors; then these governors gradually became independ ent kings, and conflicts were born. So I asked him what was going to happen after this next war and whether the world would be better. He replied as follows: Yes, great sages like Sri Aurobindo who are wandering now in their subtle bodies will appear. Some sages may take the physical body of political leaders in the West. It will be the end of ignorant atomic machines and the beginning of a new age with great sages leading the world. So it seems that Xs vision links up with Sri Aurobindos prediction for 1967.
He did not give me any further details about this war, except to say that the countries which will suffer the most will be the countries of the North and the East, and he cited Burma, Japan, China and Russia. He said rather categorically that Russia would be swept away and that America would triumph.
0 1959-06-08, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
The earthquake he m entioned promises to be a kind of pralaya (as X put it), for not only Bombay will be touched. This is what he said: America supports Pakistan, but the gods do not support Pakistan, and Pakistan will be punished by the gods. HALF of western Pakistan, including Karachi, will go into the sea. The sea will enter into Rajasthan and touch India also
X then said that India would side with America against the Communist bloc (in spite of Americas support to Pakistan), and furthermore, that the day India sides with America, America will cease supporting Pakistan. In any case, it will be the end of Pakistan.
0 1959-06-13a, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I have received your last two letters of the 10th and 11th. I told X what you wrote about this trip to France and that your finances are in an almost desperate state. He replied with perfect assurance, Soon it will increase, very soon it will change. I am obviously hesitant to accept your generous offer and I do not know what I should do. I had never thought of returning to France, except in a distant future. I dont know why X told me that I should return there, except perhaps because he felt who my mother is. I know that she is sad, that she believes me lost to her and thinks she will die without seeing me again. It would surely be a great joy to her. But other than that, I have no desire to go there, for each time I go to France, I feel like I am entering a prison. Naturally I would be happy for my mothers joy; she is a great soul, but is this reason enough?
Sunday, 14th
0 1959-10-06 - Sri Aurobindos abode, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Shortly before the 15th of August I had a unique experience that exemplifies all this.1 For the first time the supram ental light entered directly into my body, without passing through the inner beings. It entered through the feet (a red and gold colormarvelous, warm, intense), and it climbed up and up. And as it climbed, the fever also climbed because the body was not accustomed to this intensity. As all this light neared the head, I thought I would burst and that the experience would have to be stopped. But then, I very clearly received the indication to make the Calm and Peace descend, to widen all this body-consciousness and all these cells, so that they could contain the supram ental light. So I widened, and as the light was ascending, I brought down the vastness and an unshakable peace. And suddenly, there was a second of fainting.
I found myself in another world, but not far away (I was not in a total trance). This world was almost as substantial as the physical world. There were roomsSri Aurobindos room with the bed he rests on and he was living there, he was there all the time: it was his abode. Even my room was there, with a large mirror like the one I have here, combs, all kinds of things. And the substance of these objects was almost as dense as in the physical world, but they shone with their own light. It was not transluc ent, not transpar ent, not radiant, but self-luminous. The various objects and the material of the rooms did not have this same opacity as the physical objects here, they were not dry and hard as in the physical world we know.
--
I understand why certain tantrics advise saying the japa in the heart c enter. When one applies a certain enthusiasm, when each word is said with a warmth of aspiration, then everything changes. I could feel this difference in myself, in my own japa.
In fact, when I walk back and forth in my room, I dont cut myself off from the rest of the worldalthough it would be so much more conveni ent! All kinds of things come to mesuggestions, wills, aspirations. But automatically I make a movem ent of offering: things come to me and just as they are about to touch my head, I turn them upwards and offer them to the Light. They dont enter into me. For example, if someone speaks to me while I am saying my japa, I hear quite well what is being said, I may even answer, but the words remain a little outside, at a certain distance from the head. And yet sometimes, there are things that insist, more defined wills that pres ent themselves to me, so then I have to do a little work, but all that without a pause in the japa. If that happens, there is sometimes a change in the quality of my japa, and instead of being fully the power, fully the light, it is certainly something that produces results, but results more or less sure, more or less long to fructify; it becomes uncertain, as with all things of this physical world. Yet the difference between the two japas is imperceptible; its not a difference between saying the japa in a more or less mechanical way and saying it consciously, because even while I work I remain fully conscious of the japa I continue to repeat it putting the full meaning into each syllable. But nevertheless, there is a difference. One is the all-powerful japa; the other, an almost ordinary japa There is a difference in the inner attitude. Perhaps for the japa to become true, a kind of joy, an elation, a warmth of enthusiasm has to be added but especially joy. Then everything changes.
Well, it is the same thing, the same imperceptible difference, when it comes to entering the world of Truth. On one side there is the falsehood, and on the other, close by, like the lining of this one, the true life. Only a little difference in the inner quality, a little reversal, is enough to pass to the other side, into the Truth and Light.
Perhaps simply to add joy would suffice.
0 1960-03-03, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
But what is surprising is that in a flash, no one was there any longer. No one, you understand I was gone. Perhaps I was everywhere (but in fact I am always everywhere, I am always conscious of being everywhere at the same time), though normally there is the sense of the body, a physical c enter, but that evening there was no more c enter! Nothing, no one, not even the sense that there was no onenothing. I was gone. There was indeed something handing out the medals which felt the joy of giving the medal, the joy of receiving it, the joy of mutually looking at each other. It was simply the joy of the action taking place, the joy of looking, this joy everywhere, but me?Nothing, no one, gone. Only later, afterwards, did I see what had happened, for everything had disappeared, even the higher mind that understands and organizes things (by understand I mean contain, which contains things). That also was gone. And this lasted the entire distribution. Only when that [the body] had gone back upstairs to the room did the consciousness of what is me return.
There is a line by Sri Aurobindo in Savitri which expresses this very well: to annul oneself so that only the Supreme Lord may be.
0 1960-04-07, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
A few lines to tell you that I miss you. I truly realize more and more that I shall never be happy until I have disappeared in you entirely. There must be nothing left but That. I understand well enough, but Im so blocked, so thick. In any case, I think of you a lot and I really only live by this something that pulls me deep within. If that were not there, it would all be so absurd.
Ive booked my ticket to Rameswaram for the evening of the 13th, so I will probably reach there on the 15th.
0 1960-05-21 - true purity - you have to be the Divine to overcome hostile forces, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Formations, in occult language, refer to all the psychological movem ents and impulses, conscious or unconscious, constantly emanating from the disciples and others, and which leave an imprint in the subtle atmosphere or a wandering entity seeking to fulfill itself.
***
0 1960-05-24 - supramental flood, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
These experiences are always absolute, as long as they last; then, through certain signs that I know (I am accustomed to it), I notice that the body consciousness begins closing up again. Or rather, somethingevid ently a Supreme Wisdomdecides its suffici ent for this time and that the body has had enough. It ought not to break, which is why certain precautions are taken. So this comes in several little stages that I know quite well. The final one is always a bit unpleasant because my body gets into rather peculiar positions as a result of the work. As its only a sort of machine, towards the end I have some difficulty straightening my knees, for example, or opening my fingers I think they even make a noise, like something forced into one position whose life has become purely spontaneous and mechanical. There are pl enty of people like that, pl enty, who enter into trance and then can no longer get out by themselves; they get themselves into a certain position and someone has to free them. This has never happened to me; I have always managed to extricate myself. But yesterday evening, the experience lasted a very long time. There was even a little cracking at the end, as when people have rheumatism.
And during all this time, approximately three hours, the consciousness was completely, completely differ ent. It was here, however; it was not outside the earth, it was on earth, but it was completely differ enteven the body consciousness was differ ent. And what remained was very mechanical; it was a body, but it could just as well have been anything. All this power of consciousness that for more than sev enty years Ive gradually pushed into each of the bodys cells so that each cell could become conscious (and it goes on constantly, constantly), all this seemed to have withdrawn there only remained one almost lifeless thing. However, I could raise myself up from my bed and even drink a glass of water, but it was all so bizarre. And when I w ent back to bed, it took nearly forty-five minutes for the body to regain its normal state. Only after I had entered into another type of samadhi2 and again come out of it did my consciousness fully return. It is the first time I have had an experience of this kind.
During those three hours, there was nothing but the Supreme manifesting through the eternal Mother.
--
This experience last night also enabled me to understand what X had felt during one of our meditations. He had explained his experience by way of saying that I was this mystic tree whose roots plunge into the Supreme and whose branches spread forth over the world,3 and he said that one of these branches had entered into himand it had been a unique experience. He had said, this is the Mother.
And now I understand that what he had seen and translated by this Vedic image was that kind of perpetual flood.
0 1960-05-28 - death of K - the death process- the subtle physical, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I think they do it here (apart from entirely sanitary considerations in the case of people who have died from nasty diseases), here in India, mainly because they are very afraid of all these little entities that come from desires, impulsesthings which are dispersed in the air and which make ghosts and all kinds of things. All desires, all attachm ents, all those things are like pieces that break off (each one goes its own way, you see), then these pieces gain strength in the surrounding atmosphere, and when they can fasten on to someone, they vampirize him. Then they keep on trying to satisfy their desires.
The world, the terrestrial atmosphere, is full of filth.
And people here are much more sensitive than in Europe because they are much more interiorized, so they are conscious of all these little entities, and naturally theyre afraid. And the more afraid they are, the more theyre vampirized!
I think that many of these entities are dispersed by fire that creates havoc.
I know one person, a boy who died here, who was burned before he had left! He had a weak heart, and not enough care was taken that is, they probably should not have operated on him. He was our engineer. He died in the hospital. Not a serious operation, an appendicitis, but his heart could not take up its natural movem ent.
0 1960-06-03, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
The best rest is to enter into the inner silence for a few mom ents.
Blessings.
0 1960-06-07, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Ah, thats what it is! Your cave it IS like that, its really like that, I understand why you feel you have to blast it with dynamite! But if you go right to the endright to the endtheres no more top to the cave, its wide open to the stars. I can see it. Go to the very end. Its very dark. Its very dark and not very enticing, and it feels as if it may still be worse but it wont be worse. Go right to the end, and suddenly youll be able to stand up straight.
(long silence)
0 1960-06-11, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Sometimes the Force comes direct. And it picks up words, any words at all, that makes no difference; the nature of the words changes, and they become expressive BECAUSE of the power entering into them. This happens when I look directly at the thing.
But when a question is put to me, it comes coated with all the m ental atmosphere of whoever is asking the question. And this coating is often a mere reflectionmuch of the life has been removed.
0 1960-07-12 - Mothers Vision - the Voice, the ashram a tiny part of myself, the Mothers Force, sparkling white light compressed - enormous formation of negative vibrations - light in evil, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I heard the Voice and awoke with the feeling of this Power, this Light, this Force of realization conc entrated here which sets everything in motion (as always, it is always the same, a Power in motion). It was a dazzling white light. But then, what I found funny was that there I was, quite in my natural state, and this, the Ashram, was a tiny, tiny part of myself. And throughout the whole experience, it remained like thata very tiny part of myself. Everything else was I cant say deconc entrated, but an entirely general, overall activity, as it normally is every night. And I saw the Ashram quite clearlyit was something special, made for special reasons, but whereas I seemed to have an immense body, that was very small, very small. It w ent on for an hour. Thats what I found amusing; the other things just happen, and they may be interesting, but this was so spontaneous; I was watching it (I dont know where my head was), I was looking down from above so tiny, so tiny.
What was me was up above, and the Ashram was It began just here (the navel) and w ent that way (downwards), and it was encircled, to show that it was a special formationencircled in the inconscience of the terrestrial creation. And I was everything else, with the usual vibrations of power and light. And then one curr ent and another curr ent and another were passing into it, into this formation, and they kept going in and in and in, accumulating. They kept going in, and yet they did not come out, they did not leave. It was not an undulatory movem ent, but rather a pulsating movem entit had no beginning, it didnt go out, and yet it kept moving. Its very difficult to describe.
--
Its form was elongated, slanting downwards (it always has this form). At the top it looked like a head, then the lines disappeared down below. It had no openings. And then, it was surrounded by various dark sheaths, a very dark purple which is the color of protection. A sparkling light was entering into itit kept entering, but without making any holes. It passed right through everything, through the purplethrough everything. It passed through and entered inside, where there were sparklings of every color, like a cascade. There are always these cascades of forcesimilar to a cascading stream whose waters neither flow on nor disappear, but accumulate: an accumulation of energies, a condensation. And they accumulate without taking up any more space through a kind of compression. And inside, its moving, vibrating, vibrating, vibrating, it keeps coming and comingyou dont know where it comes from, but it keeps coming and accumulating.
It was a force with a sparkling white light at its c enter, the light which is the force of the Divine Mother, and as soon as it was well packed and conc entrated inside, or condensed, it took on all the colorsvibrations of every color Like a materialization these colors were like a materialization of the Divine Force when it enters matter. (Just as matter is a condensation of energy, well, this seemed to be a condensation of Divine Force. Thats really the impression it gave.)
It reminded me of tantric things. I have seen tantric formations and how forces are systematically separated by themeach vibration, each color. Its very interesting. They are all one, and yet each is distinct. That is, they are separated in order to be distinguished and for each one to be used individually. Each one repres ents a particular action for obtaining something in particular. This is the special knowledge the tantrics have, I believe. Or its the reflection of their knowledge. And my impression is that when they do their pujas or say their mantras, what they are trying to do is recombine all that into the white light. Im not sure. I know they use each one separately for a separate purpose, but when they speak of their puja succeeding, it may mean that they have been able to recombine the light. But I say this very guardedly. For I would have to see X do his puja one day to really knowfrom afar Im not so sure. Its merely an impression.
This is what I am constantly seeing now, but along with this Divine Force or this Divine Consciousness that Sri Aurobindo speaks of when he says, Mothers Force is with you. When it comes, it is sparkling white, perfectly white and perfectly luminous. And as it accumulates inside, it makes living vibrations of every color. And it goes on and on and on. Sometimes it lasts half an hour, three-quarters of an hour, an hournothing goes out. And it keeps constantly entering. And it piles up. Its as if it is all being accumulated or compressed together.
So, the observing mind, the intelligence that watches, looked at all thisAh, thats what its like (an intelligence that watches without interfering in the least). Its like a spectator talking to himself.
0 1960-07-18 - triple time vision, Questions and Answers is like circling around the Garden, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
There is an experience in which one is entirely outside of time that is, ahead, behind, above, below, all these things are one and the same. And at the very mom ent the id entification takes place, there is no longer any past, pres ent or future. And really, its the only way to know.
As the experiences unfold, these old Questions and Answers give me the feeling of someone circling outside a garden while describing whats inside it. But a day comes when you enter the garden, and then you know a little better whats inside. And Im starting to enter. Im starting.
***
0 1960-07-26 - Mothers vision - looking up words in the subconscient, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
However, its not a personal subconsci ent, but a its more than the Ashram. For me, the Ashram is not a separate individualityexcept in that vision the other day,1 which is what surprised me. Its hardly that. Rather, it is still this Movem ent of everything, of everything that is included. So its like entering into the subconsci ent of the whole earth, and it takes on forms which are quite familiar images to me, but they are absolutely symbolic and very, very funny! It took a mom ent to see that vainquons is spelled q-u-o-n-s. And I wasnt sure! I meant to ask Pavitra for a dictionary which gives verb conjugations, for then if Im stuck on something while writing, I can look it up.
The other day I wrote somethingit was a letter I gave Pavitra to read. I think theres a spelling mistake, he said. Its quite possible, I answered, I make pl enty of them. He looked it up in a splendid dictionary and, as a matter of fact, it was a mistake. I meant to ask him for a dictionary this morning.
0 1960-08-10 - questions from center of Education - reading Sri Aurobindo, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
And I will keep hammering that into your heads till I enter right into them.
***
0 1960-09-20, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
So I saw this I saw it moving about. And it kept coming and coming and coming, accumulating, piling up (they work 24 hours a day, six days a weekonly on the sev enth do they rest). So I thought that this angry force must have some effect on the peoplewho knows, maybe this is what creates accid ents. For I could see that once the sugar cane was fully crushed and had gone back up the chute, this force that had been beaten out was right there. And this worried me a little; I thought that there must be a certain danger in doing such a thing! What saves them is their ignorance and their insensitivity. But Indians are never entirely insensitive in the way Westerners arethey are much more open in their subconscious.
I didnt speak of it to anyone, but it caused me some concern. And just the next day the machine broke down! When I was informed, immediately I thought It was then repaired, and again it broke downthree times. Then the following night, just before ten oclock I should m ention that during the day I had thought, But why not attract these forces to our side, take them and satisfy them, give them some peace and joy and use them? I thought about it, conc entrated a little, but then I didnt bother any further. At ten oclock that evening, they came upon mein a flood! They kept coming and coming. And I was busy with them the whole time. They were not ugly (not so luminous either! ), they were wholesome, straightforwardhonest forces. So I worked on them. This began exactly at 9:30, and for one hour I was busy working. After an hour, Id had enough: Listen, this is quite fine, youre very nice, but I cant spend all my time like this! We shall see what to do later for it absorbed my whole consciousness. They kept coming and coming (you understand what that means to a body?!). So at 10:30 I told them, Listen, my little ones, be quiet now, thats enough for today At 10:30, the machine broke down!
0 1960-10-02a, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Of course, I much prefer being in my great curr ents of forcefrom a personal standpoint, such immensity of action is much more interesting. But these docum entary things are also valuable. It is so tremendously differ ent from the dreams and even the vi. signs you have when you enter certain repres entative realms of the mind (which is what I used to do). It is so differ ent, it has another cont ent, another life altogether: it carries its light, its understanding, its explanation within itselfyou look, and everything is explained.
It always gives me the feeling that I am shrinking a little, but its interesting. And its useful, for I am constantly moving about and doing things with people; it indicates to me what I have to say and do with each one. Its useful. But all the same, I miss the fullness and joy of the more impersonal Movem ent of forces.
0 1960-10-11, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
There are still many hundreds of years to go before it becomes entirely what Sri Aurobindo describes theres no hurry!
The m ental silence Sri Aurobindo gave you in 1914, about which you were speaking the other day
--
And in the beginning, during the first months that I was doing the japa, I felt them I had an almost detailed awareness of these myriads of cells opening to this vibration; the vibration of the first sound is an absolutely special vibration (you see, above, there is the light and all that, but beyond this light there is the original vibration), and this vibration was entering into all the cells and was reproduced in them. It w ent on for months in this way.
Even now, when something or other is not all right, I have only to reproduce the thing with the same type of conc entration as at the beginning for, when I say the japa, the sound and the words together the way the words are understood, the feel of the wordscreate a certain totality. I have to reproduce that. And the way its repeated is evolving all the time. The words are the same, however, the original sound is the same, but its all constantly evolving towards a more comprehensive realization and a more and more complete STATE. So when I want to obtain a certain result, I reproduce a certain type of this state. For example, if something in the body is not functioning right (it cant really be called an illness, but when somethings out of order), or if I wish to do some specific work on a specific person for a specific reason, then I go back to a certain state of repetition of my mantra, which acts directly on the bodys cells. And then the same phenomenon is reproducedexactly the same extraordinary vibration which I recognized when the supram ental world descended. It comes in and vibrates like a pulsation in the cells.
But as I told you, now my japa is differ ent. It is as if I were taking the whole world to lift it up; no longer is it a conc entration on the body, but rather a taking of the whole world the entire world sometimes in its details, sometimes as a whole, but constantly, constantlyto establish the Contact (with the supram ental world).
But what you are speaking of, this sort of sound-mill, this milling of words interminably repeating the same thing, Ive suddenly caught it two or three times (not very often and with long intervals). It has always seemed fantastic to me! How is it stopped? Always in the same way. Its something that takes place outside, actually; its not insideits outside, on the surface, generally somewhere here (Mother indicates the temples), and the method is to draw your consciousness up above, to go there and remain therewhite. Always this whiteness, white like a sheet of paper, flat like a plate of glass. An absolutely flat and white and motionless surfacewhite! White like luminous milk, turned upwards. Not transpar ent: white.
0 1960-10-19, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
And I couldnt even imagine he was gone once he had gone, just there, in front of meit seemed so far away And then afterwards, when he came out of his body and entered into mine, I understood it all Its fantastic.
Fantastic.
--
When he left, I said twelve days, twelve days.2 And truly, I gave it twelve days, twelve days to see if the entire Work Outwardly, I said, After twelve days I will tell you if the Ashram (the Ashram was nothing but a symbol, of course), if the Ashram will continue or if it is finished.
And later (I dont knowit didnt take twelve days; I said that on December 9, and on the 12th it was all decidedseen, clear and understood), on the 12th, I saw people, I saw a few people. However, we began all the activities again only after 12 days from December 5. But it was decided on the 12th.
Everything was left hanging until the mom ent he made me understand the COMPLETE thing, in its entirety But thats for later on.
He himself will tell you, its truelater on.
0 1960-10-22, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
There was a considerable library in the studio; one whole end was given over to the librarymore than two thousand books belonging to my brother. There were even the complete works of several classical writers. And I had my entire collection of the Revue Cosmique, and my post card collection (it was down below)mainly post cards of Algeria, Tlemcen, nearly 200 of them. But there were five years of the Revue Cosmique. And written in such a French! How funny it was!
Theons wife dictated it in English while she was in trance. Another English lady who was there claimed to know French like a Frenchman. Myself, I never use a dictionary, she would say, I dont need a dictionary. But then she would turn out such translations! She made all the classic mistakes of English words that mustnt be translated like that. Then it was s ent to me in Paris for correcting. It was literally impossible.
--
They were stories, narratives, an entire initiation in the form of stories. There was a lot in it, really a lot. She knew many things. But it was pres ented in such a way that it was unreadable.
I also wrote one or two things, experiences I had noted down; they were rather interesting, which is why Id like to get them back. I had described some of my visions to Madame Theon, and then she explained their meaning to me. So I would narrate the vision and give its explanation. That was readable and interesting, because there was some symbolism.
--
I entered into your sleep last night. I saw you and told you certain things, I even gave you some explanations: You see, you must do it this way you must go like this I also said, One day, we shall meditate together. But more precisely, you had once spoken to me about the problem in your physical mind that it keeps on turning interminably and you had told me that it happens during your japa. So last night I told you, I would like you to do your japa for a few minutes with me one day so that I may see what goes on inside you, in your physical mind.
But I wasnt speaking to you with words Everything I see at night has a special color and a special vibration. Its strange, but it looks sketched When I said that to you, for example, there was a kind of patch,1 a white patch, as I recallwhite, exactly like a piece of white papera patch with a pink border around it, then this same blue light I keep telling you aboutdeep blueencircling the rest, as it were. And beyond that, it was swarminga swarming of black and dark gray vibrations in a terrible agitation. When I saw this, I said to you, You must repeat your mantra once in my presence so that I may see if there is anything I can do about this swarming. And then I dont know whyyou objected, and this objection was red, like a tongue of fire lashing out from the white, like this (Mother draws an arabesque). So I said, No, dont worry, it doesnt matter, I wont disturb a thing2! (Mother laughs mischievously)
--
And thats how it worksit is translated by patches and moving forms, which is how it gets registered in the earths memory. So when things from this realm enter into peoples active consciousness, they get translated into each ones language and the words and thoughts that each one is accustomed tobecause that doesnt belong to any language or to any idea: it is the exact IMPRINT of what is happening.
I am constantly seeing this now.
--
For some time now Ive been experiencing a precise mom ent during my japa when something takes hold of me and I have all the difficulty in the world to keep from entering into trance. Yet I remain standing. Usually Im walking, but some things I say while leaning up against the windownot a very good place to go into trance! And it grabs me exactly at the same place each time.
Yesterday, I suddenly saw a huge living head of blue lightthis blue light which is the force, the powerful force in material Nature (this is the light the tantrics use). The head was made entirely of this light, and it wore a sort of tiaraa big head, so big (Mother indicates the length of her forearm); its eyes wer ent closed, but rather lowered, like this. The immobility of eternity, absolutely the repose, the immobility of eternity. A magnific ent head, quite similar to the way the gods here are repres ented, but even better; something between certain heads of the Buddha and (these heads most probably come to the artists). Everything else was lost in a kind of cloud.
I felt that this kind of yes, immobility came from there: everything stops, absolutely everything stops. Silence, immobility truly, you enter into eternity.I told him it wasnt time!
But I tried to understand what he wanted Its been difficult here in the Ashram for some timeeveryone is seized with a sort of frenzy, a weary restlessness. They are all writing to me, they all want to see me. It makes for such an atmosphere I react as well as I can, but Im not able to pass this on to them to keep them quiet (the more tired and weary you are, the more calm you ought to remaincertainly not get excited, thats dreadful!). So I understood: this head had come to tell me, This is what you must give them.
--
The experience I havewhat I mean by I is this aggregate here (Mother indicates her body), this particular individualityis that the more quiet and calm it is, the more work it can do and the faster the work can be done. What is most disturbing and time consuming are all these agitated vibrations that fall on me (truly speaking, each person who comes throws them on me). And this is what makes the work difficultit stirs up a whirlwind. And you cant do anything in this whirlwind, its impossible. If you try to do something material, your fingers stumble; if you try to do something intellectual, your thoughts get all entangled and you no longer see clearly. Ive had the experience, for example, of wanting to look up a word in the dictionary while this agitation was in the atmosphere, and everything jumps up and down (yet the lighting is the same and Im using the same magnifying glass), I no longer see a thing, its all jumping! I go page by page, but the word simply doesnt exist in the dictionary! Then I remain quiet, I do this (Mother makes a gesture of bringing down the Peace) and after half a minute I open the dictionary: the very spot, and the word leaps out at me! And I see clearly and distinctly. Consequ ently I have now the indisputable proof that if you want to do anything properly, you must FIRST be calm but not only be calm yourself; you must either isolate yourself or be capable of imposing a calm on this whirlwind of forces that comes upon you all the time from all around.
All the teachers are wanting to quit the schoolweary! Which means theyll begin the year with half the teachers gone. They live in constant tension, they dont know how to relax thats really what it is. They dont know how to act without agitation.
0 1960-10-25, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I found out the details: this boy had to go to the station, but on his way, he w ent into a shoe store just next to the station to buy a pair of sandals. As he entered, he saw a man there choosing a pair of womens shoes for himself! This seemed strange to him: Whats this man doing buying and he WATCHEDsuddenly, nothing more. He lost consciousness and no longer knew what happened to him. And thats how the story begana man selecting womens shoes in a shop! He must do strange thingsprobably int entionallyto attract peoples att ention. Naturally, out of curiosity, the boy started watching, and that was thatall of a sudden, blank, nothing more! And long afterwards he found himself far away in a train with this man. Hes here now with his mother they came to thank me. Its he who gave me the details. Hes a nice boy, but all this has left him with some anxiety, especially when he speaks of it. Hes trying to forget. He told me hed like to join the army and asked my permission. The boy feels a need for force and he has the idea that to be part of such a force would be good for him. (Of course, he didnt tell me all this, hes not that conscious. But thats what he feels the need to be supported by an organization of force.) So I encouraged him. I told him it was a good idea. His mother wasnt very happy! She feared he was leaping from the frying pan into the fire!
Another curious detail is that after having taken away all his appetite and having put him in the caf as a waiter, they told him, Now you must eat, so he tried to eat, and for four days he vomited up everything he put init was completely black! After that, he was able to start eating a little. Its a fantastic story!
--
Only, there is all that comes from outside thats what is most dangerous. Constantly, constantlywhen you eat, you catch it oh, what a mass of vibrations! The vibrations of the thing you eat when it was living (they always remain), the vibrations of the person who cooked it, vibrations of All the time, all the time, they never stopyou breathe, they enter. Of course, when you start talking to someone or mixing with people, then you become a bit more conscious of what is coming, but even just sitting still, uninvolved with othersit comes! There is an almost total interdependenceisolation is an illusion. By reinforcing your own atmosphere (Mother gestures, as if building a wall around her), you can hold these things off TO A CERTAIN EXT ent, but simply this effort to keep them at a distance creates (Im thinking in English and speaking in French) disturbances.8 Anyway, now all this has been SEEN.
But I know in an absolute way that once this whole mass of the physical mind is mastered and the Brahmic consciousness is brought into it in a continuous way, you CAN you become the MASTER of your health.
--
The problem is that when you enter into the ordinary consciousness, these things become so subtle and require such a scrupulous observance that people are justified (they FEEL justified) in having the attitude, Oh, its Nature, its Fate, its the Divine Will! But with that conviction, the Yoga of Perfection is impossible and appears as a mere utopian fantasy but this is FALSE. The truth is something else entirely.
(long silence)
0 1960-10-30, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
And this god was very intimately related to you, as if you were melted together; you were like a sacrificial priest and at the same time he was entering into you.
And this lasted quite long (its what I saw most clearly and what I best remember). But there were many, many thingsold things that I know and certainly a VERY INTIMATE relationship which we had in the days of Egypt, at Thebes.
--
Then suddenly I w ent into a little trance. And in it I saw you, but you were physically, you were on one plane, and then I saw another man on a differ ent plane (I saw him quite concretely; he was rather tall, broad-shoulderednot so tall as broad, with a dark, European suit). And he took your hands and started shaking them enthusiastically!but you were quite indiffer ent, just as you are now, dressed in Indian fashion and sitting cross-legged. He took both your hands and started shaking them! And then I distinctly heard the words: Congratulations, its a great success!it had to do with your book.3 And at the same time, I saw all sorts of people and things who were touched by your bookall kinds of people, obviously French, or Westerners in any case women, men. There was even one woman (she must have been an actress or a singer or anyway, someone whose life was she was even dressed for the stage, with some kind of tightsa beautiful girl!) and she said to someone, Ah, it has even given me a taste for the spiritual life! It was extremely interesting All kinds of things of this nature. And then once again I came out of this trance and In the end, I tried to do some certain thing for you and it turned out well. It turned out quite well.
But then, just before that, there was this powdering of golden light coming down. And as it descended, it was white with a touch of gold (but it was white) and it came down in a column, with such POWER! And then, just at the end, this powdering of gold came and settled into this white light which had remained there the whole timeoh, it was so abundant. A great power of realization. I had a hard time coming out of it! At the start, I had decided to come out of it at half past, so I came out, but still not completely
0 1960-11-08, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
So for persons who are severe and grave (there are two such examples here, but its not necessary to name them) There are beings who are grave, so serious, so sincere, who find it hypocritical; and when it borders on certain (how shall I put it?) vital excesses, they call it vice. There are others who have lived their entire lives in a yogic or religious discipline, and they see this as an obstacle, illusion, dirtyness (Mother makes a gesture of rejecting with disgust), but above all, its this terrible illusion that prev ents you from nearing the Divine. And when I saw the way these two people here reacted, in fact, I said to myself, but you see, I FELT So strongly that this too is the Divine, it too is a way of getting out of something that has had its place in evolution, and still has a place, individually, for certain individuals. Naturally, if you remain there, you keep turning in circles; it will always be (not eternally, but indefinitely) the woman of my life, to take that as a symbol. But once youre out of it, you see that this had its place, its utilityit made you emerge from a kind of very animal-like wisdom and quietude that of the herd or of the being who sees no further than his daily round. It was necessary. We mustnt condemn it, we mustnt use harsh words.
The mistake we make is to remain there too long, for if you spend your whole life in that, well, youll probably need many more lifetimes. But once the chance to get out of it comes, you can look at it with a smile and say, Yes, its really a sort of love for fiction!people love fiction, they want fiction, they need fiction! Otherwise its boring and all much too flat.
--
I have experienced all kinds of things in life, but I have always felt a sort of lightso INTANGIBLE, So perfectly pure (not in the moral sense, but pure light!)and it could go anywhere, mix everywhere without ever really getting mixed with anything. I felt this flame as a young childa white flame. And NEVER have I felt disgust, contempt, recoil, the sense of being dirtiedby anything or anyone. There was always this flamewhite, white, so white that nothing could make it other than white. And I started feeling it long ago in the past (now my approach is entirely differ entit comes straight from above, and I have other reasons for seeing the Purity in everything). But it came back when I met Z (because of the contact with him)and I felt nothing negative, absolutely nothing. Afterwards, people said, Oh, how he used to be this, how he used to be that! And now look at him! See what hes become! Someone even used the word rotten that made me smile. Because, you see, that doesnt exist for me.
What I saw is this world, this realm where people are like that, they live that, for its necessary to get out from below and this is a wayits a way, the only way. It was the only way for the vital formation and the vital creation to enter into the material world, into inert matter. An intellectualized vital, a vital of ideas, an artist; it even fringes upon or has the first drops of Poetrythis Poetry which upon its peaks goes beyond the mind and becomes an expression of the Spirit. Well, when these first drops fall on earth, it stirs up mud.
And I wondered why people are so rigid and severe, why they condemn others (but one day Ill understand this as well). I say this because very often I run into these two states of mind in my activities (the grave and serious mind which sees hypocrisy and vice, and the religious and yogic mind which sees the illusion that prev ents you from nearing the Divine)and without being openly criticized, Im criticized Ill tell you about this one day
--
How strange it is! You have the feeling of ascending, of a progress in consciousness, and everything, all the ev ents and circumstances of life follow one another with an unquestioning logic. You see the Divine Will unfolding with a wonderful logic. Then, from time to time, there appears a little set of circumstances (either isolated or repeated), which are like snags on the way; you cant explain them, so you put them aside for later on. Some such accid ents have been quite significant, but they dont seem to follow this ascending line of the pres ent individuality. Theyre scattered along the way, sometimes repeated, sometimes only once, and then they vanish. And when you go through such an experience, you sense that they are things put aside for later on. And then, all of a sudden (especially during these last two years when I have again descended to take all that up), all of a sudden, one after another, all these snags return. And they dont follow the same curve; rather, its as if suddenly you reach a certain state and a certain impersonal breadth that far surpasses the individual, and this new state enters into contact with one of those old accid ents that had remained in the deepest part of the subconsci entand that makes it rise up again, the two meet in an explosion of light. Everything is explained, everything is understood, everything is clear! No explanation is needed: it has become OBVIOUS.
This is entirely another way of understandingits not an asc ent, not even a desc ent nor an inspiration it must be what Sri Aurobindo calls a revelation. Its the meeting of this subconscious notationthis something which has remained buried within, held down so as not to manifest, but which suddenly surges forth to meet the light streaming down from above, this very vast state of consciousness that excludes nothing and from it springs forth a lightoh, a resplendence of light!like a new explanation of the world, or of that part of the world not yet explained.
And this is the true way of knowing.
0 1960-11-12, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
Theres a certain sensibility which makes any increase in humidity felt. Before it starts raining, even several hours before, it feels like there are drops falling on my body. I can always say when its going to rain. Its entirely physical, actually, merely a heightened sensitivity. It feels like very tiny drops (you know, like drizzle), the feeling of a very fine spray falling on the body. And yet the sky is clear; I say, Hmm, its going to rain. And it rains I felt it. I feel the water, and it never fails to come a few hours later.
(silence)
--
I listen, I answer. Its not satisfactory! I told them. But theyve kept to their idea, they like it. When that first storm came some time back (you remember, with those terrible bolts of lightning and that asuric being P.K. saw and sketched): Dont you want us to destroy something? I got angry. But it was This influence was so close and acute that it gave you goose bumps! The whole time the storm lasted, I had to hold on tight in my bed, like this (Mother closes her fists tight as in a trance or deep conc entration), and I didnt movedidnt movelike a a rock during the entire storm, until he cons ented to go a bit further away. Then I moved. And even now, it comesfrom others (theres not just one, you see, there are many): How about a good flood? A roof collapsed the other day with someone underneath, but he was able to escape. So roofs are collapsing, houses Arouse public sympathy, we must help the Ashram! Its no good, I said. But maybe thats whats responsible for this interminable rain. And they offer so many other things oh, what they parade past me! You could write books on all this!
But generally and this is something Theon had told me (Theon was very qualified on the subject of hostile forces and the workings of all that resists the divine influence, and he was a great fighteras you might imagine! He himself was an incarnation of an asura, so he knew how to tackle these things!); he was always saying, If you make a VERY SMALL concession or suffer a minor defeat, it gives you the right to a very great victory. Its a very good trick. And I have observed, in practice, that for all things, even for the very little things of everyday life, its trueif you yield on one point (if, even though you see what should be, you yield on a very secondary and unimportant point), it immediately gives you the power to impose your will for something much more important. I m entioned this to Sri Aurobindo and he said that it was true. It is true in the world as it is today, but its not what we want; we want it to change, really change.
--
Sri Aurobindo had also written to the effect, If Divine Love were to manifest now in all its fullness and totality, not a single material organism would but burst. So we must learn to widen, widen, widen not only the inner consciousness (that is relatively easyat least feasible), but even this conglomeration of cells. And Ive experienced this: you have to be able to widen this sort of crystallization if you want to be able to hold this Force. I know. Two or three times, upstairs (in Mothers room), I felt the body about to burst. Actually, I was on the verge of saying, burst and be done with. But Sri Aurobindo always intervenedall three times he intervened in an entirely tangible, living and concrete way and he arranged everything so that I was forced to wait.
Then weeks go by, sometimes even months, between one thing and another, so that some elasticity may come into these stupid cells.
0 1960-11-15, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
For me its differ ent, because I KNOW that it can and must become something else. But then all this Consciousness which is there and in which I live and which has this world vision must come forward and manifest in the vibration of EACH secondnot in a whole which looks interesting when seen from afar; it must enter the vibration of each second, the consciousness of each minute, otherwise
(silence)
--
While it was all coming up, I thought, How is this possible? For during those years of my life (Im now outside things; I do them but Im entirely outside, so they dont involve mewhether its like this or like that makes no difference to me; Im only doing my work, thats all), I was already conscious, but nevertheless I was IN what I was doing to a certain ext ent; I was this web of social life (but thank God it wasnt here in India, for had it been here I could not have withstood it! I think that even as a child I would have smashed everything, because here its even worse than over there). You see, there its its a bit less constricting, a bit looser, you can slip through the mesh from time to time to brea the some air. But here, according to what Ive learned from people and what Sri Aurobindo told me, its absolutely unbearable (its the same in Japan, absolutely unbearable). In other words, you cant help but smash everything. Over there, you sometimes get a breath of air, but still its quite relative. And this morning I wondered (you see, for years I lived in that way for years and years) just as I was wondering, How was I ABLE to live that and not kick out in every direction?, just as I was looking at it, I saw up above, above this (it is worse than horrible, it is a kind of Oh, not despair, for there isnt even any sense of feeling there is NOTHING! It is dull, dull, dull gray, gray, gray, clenched tight, a closed web that lets through neither air nor life nor lightthere is nothing) and just then I saw a splendor of such sweet light above itso sweet, so full of true love, true compassion something so warm, so warm the relief, the solace of an eternity of sweetness, light, beauty, in an eternity of patience which feels neither the past nor the inanity and imbecility of thingsit was so wonderful! That was entirely the feeling it gave, and I said to myself, THAT is what made you live, without THAT it would not have been possible. Oh, it would not have been possible I would not have lived even three days! THAT is there, ALWAYS there, awaiting its hour, if we would only let it in.
(silence)
--
I had seen this earlier from another angle. In the beginning, when I started having the consciousness of immortality and when I brought together this true consciousness of immortality and the human conception of it (which is entirely differ ent), I saw so clearly that when a human (even quite an ordinary human, one who is not a collectivity in himselfas is a writer, for example, or a philosopher or statesman) projects himself through his imagination into what he calls immortality (meaning an indefinite duration of time) he doesnt project himself alone but rather, inevitably and always, what is projected along with himself is a whole agglomeration, a collectivity or totality of things which repres ent the life and the consciousness of his pres ent existence. And then I made the following experim ent on a number of people; I said to them, Excuse me, but lets say that through a special discipline or a special grace your life were to continue indefinitely. What you would most likely extend into this indefinite future are the circumstances of your life, this formation you have built around yourself that is made up of people, relationships, activities, a whole collection of more or less living or inert things.
But that CANNOT be extended as it is, for everything is constantly changing! And to be immortal, you have to follow this perpetual change; otherwise, what will naturally happen is what now happensone day you will die because you can no longer follow the change. But if you can follow it, then all this will fall from you! Understand that what will survive in you is something you dont know very well, but its the only thing that can survive and all the rest will keep falling off all the time Do you still want to be immortal?Not one in ten said yes! Once you are able to make them feel the thing concretely, they tell you, Oh no! Oh no! Since everything else is changing, the body might as well change too! What difference would it make! But what remains is THAT; THAT is what you must truly hold on to but then you must BE THAT, not this whole agglomeration. What you now call you is not THAT, its a whole collection of things..
0 1960-11-26, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
This interests me, for these things do not at all enter through the mind (he doesnt receive a thing there, hes closed there). So in his letter he says that this thing or that is necessary (he describes it in his own words), and he adds, This is why we must be so grateful to have among us the the great Mother7 (as he puts it), the great Mother who knows these things.Good! I said to myself. (It had to do with something specific concerning the capacity for discrimination in the outside world, the differ ent qualities and differ ent functions of differ ent beings, all of which depends on ones inner construction, as it were.) So I see that even this, even these physical experiences, is received (and yet I hadnt tried, I had never tried to make him receive it); it merely works like this, you see (gesture of a widespread diffusion), and the experience is veryhow should I say?drastic, with a kind of (power of radiation). Imperative.
Original English.
0 1960-12-13, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
For the last several days, Ive been at grips fighting with it. How can I stop this idiotic, coarse and above all defeatist automatism from constantly manifesting? Its truly an automatism; it doesnt respond to any conscious will, nothing. So what will it take to ? And its QUITE INTIMATELY related to the bodys illnesses (the old habits the body has of coming out of its rhythmic movem ent, of entering into confusion)the two things are very intimately linked.
Im deep in the problem.
0 1960-12-17, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I think that even what seems to us ugly in animal and vegetal nature appears so only because of the limitations of our own understanding. But really, as soon as man enters the scene phew!
Yes, I have always felt that in Nature one can live in beauty, always. But then once man shows up, something gets thrown out of joint. Its the mind, actually. What gives birth to ugliness is really the intrusion of the mind in life. I wonder if it was necessary, if it could not have been immediately harmonious. But it appears not.
--
And particularly, this sense of whats important and not important is something which vanishes, leaving no trace at all. You are left like that, with nothing. There is no SCALE in importance that is entirely our m ental imbecility. Either nothing is important or EVERYTHING is EQUALLY important.
The speck of dust, there, which you sweep away, or ecstatic contemplationits ALL THE SAME.
0 1960-12-20, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
And now, all these differ ent attitudes which individuals, groups and categories of men hold are coming from every direction (while Im walking upstairs) to assert their own points of view as the true thing. And I see that for myself, Im being forced to deal with a whole mass of things, most of which are quite futile from an ordinary point of viewnot to m ention the things of which these moral or religious types disapprove. Quite interestingly, all kinds of m ental formations come like arrows while Im walking for my japa upstairs (Mother makes a gesture of little arrows in the air coming into her m ental atmosphere from every direction); and yet, Im entirely in what I could call the joy and happiness of my japa, full of the energy of walking (the purpose of walking is to give a material energy to the experience, in all the bodys cells). Yet in spite of this, one thing after another comes, like this, like that (Mother draws little arrows in the air): what I must do, what I must answer to this person, what I must say to that one, what has to be done All kinds of things, most of which might be considered most futile! And I see that all this is SITUATED in a totality, and this totality I could say that its nothing but the body of the Divine. I FEEL it, actually, I feel it as if I were touching it everywhere (Mother touches her arms, her hands, her body). And all these things neither veil nor destroy nor divert this feeling of being entirely this a movem ent, an action in the body of the Divine. And its increasing from day to day, for it seems that He is plunging me more and more into entirely material things with the will that THERE TOO it must be done that all these things must be consciously full of Him; they are full of Him, in actual fact, but it must become conscious, with the perception that it is all the very substance of His being which is moving in everything
It was quite beautiful on the balcony this morning
0 1960-12-23, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
I sat down shortly before ten oclock for meditation. I was in my normal state and I was interested to see if there would be any difference from earlier times. And really, at first there was no difference at all. Then slowly, slowly, I felt this type of smiling and serene peace that I live in entering into the body. The cells are still not always conscious of it (sometimes they feel a sort of tension of life I dont know what to call it). Theyre conscious of their existence and of what it means and of the Energy that is acting (yes, conscious of the Action and the Energy that acts), but during the meditation THAT descended and there was an extraordinary relaxation. Not the relaxation that comes with surrender,1 which I normally feel before sleeping, but the relaxation that comes from a kind of serene, immutable and eternal joy. At that mom ent the body felt it could remain like that forever! Oh, how nice I feel! it said. And as a matter of fact, Im not sure but I think he felt the meditation was over, whereas I was still I felt him stirring, so I stopped.
There was a marked difference.
0 1960-12-31, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
'It was his house, and it was rather complicated to enter. I was saying a mantra or japa when X came along; he had a ... a terribly reproachful air! Then he smelled my hands: 'It's a bad habit to wear perfume. (Mother laughs) You cannot live a spiritual life when you wear perfume.' then I looked at him and thought, 'My God, does he have to be so backward!' But it annoyed me, so I said, 'Very well, I'm going.' When I got near the door, he started saying, 'Is it true you have been married several times, and that you've been divorced?' Then a kind of anger entered me (laughing) and I told him, 'No, not just once, but twice!' Thereupon, I left. All the old ideas...
After that was when I saw the little squirrel.'
0 1961-01-10, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Love, in its essence and in its origin, is like a white flame obliterating ALL resistances. You can have the experience yourself: whatever the difficulty in your being, whatever the weight of accumulated mistakes, the ignorance, incapacity, bad will, a single SECOND of this Lovepure, ess ential, suprememelts everything in its almighty flame. One single mom ent and an entire past can vanish. One single TOUCH of That in its essence and the whole burden is consumed.
Its easy to understand how someone who has this experience can spread it and act upon others, since to have it you must touch the unique, supreme Essence of the whole manifestation the Origin and the Essence, the Source and the Reality of all that is; then you immediately enter the realm of Unity where there is no more separation among individuals: its a single vibration that can repeat itself endlessly in outer forms.2
If you go high enough, you come to the Heart of everything. Whatever manifests in this Heart can manifest in all things. This is the great secret, the secret of divine incarnation in an individual form. For in the normal course of things, what manifests at the c enter is only realized in the outer form with the awakening and RESPONSE Of the will within the individual form. But if the c entral Will is constantly, perman ently repres ented in one individual, he can then serve as an intermediary between that Will and all beings, and will FOR THEM. Whatever this being perceives and consciously offers to the supreme Will is replied to as if it came from each individual being. And if individuals happen to be in a more or less conscious and voluntary relationship with this repres entative being, their relationship increases his efficacy and the supreme Action can work in Matter in a much more concrete and perman ent way. This is the reason for these desc ents of what could be called polarized consciousnesses that always come to earth for a particular realization, with a definite purpose and missiona mission decided upon before the actual embodim ent. These mark the great stages of the supreme incarnations upon earth.
--
What I say to people depends entirely upon their inner state. Thats precisely why I had such enormous difficulty at the Playground3the atmosphere was so mixed! It was a STRUGGLE to find someone receptive so I could speak. And if Im in the presence of people who understand nothing, I cant say a word. On the other hand, some people come prepared to receive and then suddenly it all comes but usually theres no tape-recorder!
I have replied endlessly, I have given all sorts of explanations about the organization of the School, about World Union,4 about the true way to organize industry (its true functioning)so many things! If all that were compiled we could publish brochures! Sometimes Ive spoken three-quarters of an hour non-stop to people who listened with delight and were receptive but quite incapable of making a written report of it. At times like that we could have used one of your machines! But when things are organized in advance, it may well be that nothing comes out at allm entalizing stops the flow. If I is in front of me, I cant say anything to her because she doesnt understand. I already have trouble writing to herwhat I have to say is always brought down a bit; but if she were here in the room and I had to speak to her, nothing at all would come out!
0 1961-01-12, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
When we enter a certain state of consciousness, we plainly see that we are capable of anything and that ultimately there is no sin not pot entially our own. Is this impression correct? And yet certain things make us rebel or disgust us. We always reach some inadmissible point. Why? What is the true, effective attitude when confronted with Evil?
There is no sin not our own.
You have this experience when for some reason or other, depending on the case, you come into contact with the universal consciousness not in its limitless essence but on any level of Matter. There is an atomic consciousness, a purely material consciousness and an even more generally prevailing psychological consciousness. When, through interiorization or a sort of withdrawal from the ego you enter into contact with that zone of consciousness we can call psychological terrestrial or human collective (there is a difference: human collective is restricted, while terrestrial includes many animal and even plant vibrations; but in the pres ent case, since the moral notion of guilt, sin and evil belongs exclusively to human consciousness, let us simply say human collective psychological consciousness); when you contact that through id entification, you naturally feel or see or know yourself capable of any human movem ent whatsoever. To some ext ent, this constitutes a Truth-Consciousness, or at such times the egoistical sense of what does or doesnt belong to you, of what you can or cannot do, disappears; you realize that the fundam ental construction of human consciousness makes any human being capable of doing anything. And since you are in a truth-consciousness, you are aware at the same time that to feel judgm ental or disgusted or revolted would be an absurdity, for EVERYTHING is pot entially there inside you. And should you happen to be penetrated by certain curr ents of force (which we usually cant follow: we see them come and go but we are generally unaware of their origin and direction), if any one of these curr ents penetrates you, it can make you do anything.
If one always remained in this state of consciousness, keeping alive the flame of Agni, the flame of purification and progress, then after some time, not only could one prev ent these movem ents from taking an active form in oneself and becoming expressed physically, but one could act upon the very nature of the movem ent and transform it. Needless to say, however, that unless one has attained a very high degree of realization it is virtually impossible to keep this state of consciousness for long. Almost immediately one falls back into the egoistic consciousness of the separate self, and all the difficulties return: disgust, the revolt against certain things and the horror they create in us, and so on.
--
Of course, people who dont think deeply enough will say, Oh, but if we see that things are exactly as they should be, then nothing will budge. But no! There isnt a fraction of a second when things ar ent moving: theres a continuous and total transformation, a movem ent that never stops. Only because its difficult for us to feel that way can we imagine that by our entering certain states of consciousness things would not change. Even if we entered into an appar ently total inertia, things would continue to change and we along with them!
Ultimately, disgust, rebellion and anger, all movem ents of violence, are necessarily movem ents of ignorance and of limitation with all the weakness that limitation implies. Rebellion is a weakness, for its the feeling of an impot ent will. When you feel, when you see that things are not as they should be, then you rebel against whatever is out of keeping with your vision. But if you were all-powerful, if your will and your vision were all-powerful, there would be no opportunity to rebel! You would always see that all things are as they should be! That is omnipotence.1 Then all these movem ents of violence become not only useless but profoundly ridiculous.
--
This state is very difficult to get out of. It is really Pharisaismthis sense of social dignity, this narrow-mindednessbecause no one with an atom of intelligence would fall into such a hole! Those who have traveled through the world, for instance, and seen for themselves that social mores depend entirely upon climatic conditions, upon races and customs and still more upon the times, the epochthey are able to look at it all with a smile. But the self-righteous oooh!
This is a primary stage. As long as you hav ent gone beyond this condition, you are unfit for yoga. Because truly, no one in such a rudim entary state is ready for yoga.
--
The title of the folder is the line from Savitri that gave me the most overpowering experience of the entire book (because, as I told you, as I read, I would LIVE the experiencesreading brought, instantly, a living experience). And when I came to this particular line I was as if suddenly swept up and engulfed in (the is wrong, an is wrongits neither one nor the other, its something else) eternal Truth. Everything was abolished except this:
For ever love, O beautiful slave of God3
0 1961-01-17, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But until then, there is this kind of indignation stemming from the fact that one is not entirely above: its a period when one totally disapproves of certain things and would be incapable of doing them. And up to this point, there is nothing to say, unless one gives an external, viol ent expression to his indignation. If anger interferes, it indicates an entire contradiction between the feeling one wants to have and this reaction towards others. Because anger is a deformation of vital power originating from an obscure and thoroughly unregenerate vital,1 a vital still subject to all the ordinary actions and reactions. When an ignorant, egoistic individual will exploits this vital power and encounters opposition from other individual wills around it, then under the pressure of opposition this power changes into anger and tries to obtain through violence what could not be achieved by the pressure of the Force alone.
Anger, moreover, like all forms of violence, is always a sign of weakness, impotence and incapacity. Here the deception comes from the approval one gives it or the flattering adjective one covers it with; for rage can be no more than blind, ignorant and asuricopposed to the light.
--
There is another case where peoplewithout knowing it or because they WANT to ignore italways pursue their personal interests, their preferences, their attachm ents, their concepts; people who are not entirely consecrated to the Divine and make use of moral and yogic ideas to conceal their personal motives. These people doubly deceive themselves: not only do they deceive themselves through their outer activities, their relations with others, but they also deceive themselves about their personal motives; instead of serving the Divine they are serving their own egoism. And this happens constantly, constantly! One serves his own personality, his egoism, while pretending to serve the Divine. This is no longer even self-deception: its sheer hypocrisy.
This m ental habit of always cloaking everything with a favorable appearance, of giving all movem ents a favorable explanation, is at times so flagrant that it can fool nobody but oneself (although it may occasionally be subtle enough to create an illusion). It is a sort of habitual self-exoneration, the habit of giving a favorable m ental excuse, a favorable m ental explanation for all one does, all one says, all one feels. For example, someone with no self-control who strikes another in great indignation and is ready to call it divine wrath! Righteous2 is perfect, because righteous immediately introduces this elem ent of puritanical moralitywonderful!
0 1961-01-22, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Yes, I am disrupting their work I know perfectly well that I am disrupting their domination of the world! All these vital beings have taken possession of the whole of Matter (Mother touches her body)life and action and have made it their domain, this is evid ent. But they are beings of the lower vital, for they seemed artificial they didnt express any higher form, but an entire range of artificial mechanisms, artificial will, artificial organization, all deriving from their own imagination and not at all from a higher inspiration.1 The symbol was very clear.
And I saw my own domain through them and through it all; I saw my domain: I can see it!, I said. But no sooner would I start on my way than the path would be lost, I no longer saw it, I couldnt see anymore where I was going. It became almost impossible to get my bearings there: hundreds and thousands of people, thingsutter confusion. An incoher ent immensity and viol ent, what violence!
--
I remained perfectly tranquil, there was nothing else to do; I knew it meant a battle. I was perfectly tranquil, but I could no longer eat, I could no longer rest, do japa2 or walk, and my head felt as though it would burst. I could only abandon myself (Mother opens her arms in a gesture of surrender), enter into a very, very deep trance, a very deep samadhithis is something one can always do. But that was the only thing left to me. Ideas were just as clear as ever (all that is above and doesnt budge), but my body was in a very bad way. It was a fight, a fight at each second. The least thing, just to walk a step, was a struggle, an awful battle!
Then last night I saw the symbol, the image of the thing. But what was it? It was an elem ent in the most material Matter,3 because it was deep down below; yet despite it all, Mother Nature was in charge there: she was familiar with everything, knew everything and it was all at her disposalabsolutely the most material Nature. And she herself had no light, but was very, very she had a concealed power that was completely invisible.
--
But all of that is wonderfully, accurately expressed and EXPLAINED in Savitri. Only you must know how to read it! The entire last part, from the mom ent she goes to seek Satyavan in the realm of Death (which affords an occasion to explain this), the whole description of what happens there, right up to the end, where every possible offer is made to tempt her, everything she must refuse to continue her terrestrial labor it is my experience EXACTLY.
Savitri is really a condensation, a conc entration of the universal Mother the eternal universal Mother, Mother of all universes from all eternityin an earthly personality for the Earths salvation. And Satyavan is the soul of the Earth, the Earths jiva. So when the Lord says, he whom you love and whom you have chosen, it means the earth. All the details are there! When she comes back down, when Death has yielded at last, when all has been settled and the Supreme tells her, Go, go with him, the one you have chosen, how does Sri Aurobindo describe it? He says that she very carefully takes the SOUL of Satyavan into her arms, like a little child, to pass through all the realms and come back down to earth. Everything is there! He hasnt forgotten a single detail to make it easy to understand for someone who knows how to understand. And it is when Savitri reaches the earth that Satyavan regains his full human stature.
--
Later, Mother specified: 'These are elem ents in the material substance entirely possessed by adverse forces and opposed to the transformation.'
On the previous day, January 21, Saraswati Puja, Mother had given a message and photos to each disciple.
0 1961-01-24, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I must say that after this, when I read The Secret of the Veda as I do each evening. In fact, I am in very close contact with the entire Vedic world since Ive been reading that book: I see beings, hear phrases. It comes up in a sort of subliminal consciousness, a lot of things are from the anci ent Vedic tradition. (By the way, I have even come to see that the pink marble bathtub I told you about last time, which Nature had offered me, belongs to the Vedic world, to a civilization of that epoch.3) There werethere are alwaysSanskrit words coming up, s entences, bits of dialogue. This is of interest, because I realized that what I had seen the other day (I told you about it) and then what I saw yesterday that whole domainwas connected to what the Vedas call the dasyus the panis and the dasyus4the enemies of the Light. And this Force that came was very clearly a power like Indras5 (though something far, far greater), and at war with darkness everywhere, like this (Mother sketches in space a whirling force touching points here and there throughout the world), this Force attacked all darkness: ideas, people, movem ents, ev ents, whatever made stains, patches of shadow. And it kept on going, a formidable power, so great that my hands were like this (Mother clenches her fists). Later when I read (I happened to be reading just the chapter concerning the fight against the dasyus), this proximity to my own experience became interesting, for it was not at all intellectual or m ental there was no idea, no thought involved.
The remainder of the evening passed as usual. I w ent to bed, and at exactly a quarter to twelve I got up with the feeling that this presence in me had increased even further and really become rather formidable. I had to instill a great deal of peace and confidence into my body, which felt as though it wasnt so easy to bear. So I conc entrated, I told my body to be calm and to let itself go completely.
At midnight I was lying in bed. (And I remained there from midnight until I oclock fully awake. I dont know if my eyes were open or closed, but I was wide awake, NOT IN TRANCEI could hear all the noises, the clocks, and so forth.) Then, lying flat, my entire body (but a slightly enlarged body, exceeding the purely physical form) became ONE vibration, extremely rapid and intense but immobile. I dont know how to explain this, because it did not move in space but was a vibration (that is, it wasnt motionless); yet it was motionless in space. And the exact form of my body was absolutely the most brilliant white Light of the supreme Consciousness, the consciousness OF the Supreme. It was IN the body and it was as though in EACH cell there was a vibration, and it was all part of a single BLOCK of vibration. It extended this much beyond the body (gesture indicating about six c entimeters). I was absolutely immobile in my bed. Then, WITHOUT MOVING, without shifting, it began consciously to rise upwithout moving, you understand: I remained like this (Mother holds her two joined and motionless hands at the level of her forehead, as if her entire body were mounting in prayer)consciously like an ascension of this consciousness6 towards the supreme Consciousness.
The body was stretched out flat.
--
And it w ent on like that. After this, Slowly, Still WITHOUT MOVING, everything w ent back into each of the differ ent c enters of the being. (Ah, let me say par enthetically that it wasnt AT ALL the asc ent of a force like the asc ent of the Kundalini! It had absolutely nothing to do with the Kundalini movem ent and the c enters, it wasnt that at all.) But while re-descending, it was as though WITHOUT LEAVING THIS STATE, without leaving this state which remained conscious ALL the time, this supreme Consciousness began to reactivate the differ ent c enters: first here (Mother points to the c enter above the head and then touches the crown of the head, the forehead, throat, chest, etc.) then there, there, there. At each there was a pause while this new realization organized everything. It organized and made the necessary decisions, sometimes down to the most minute details: what had to be done in this case or said in that case; and all of that TOGETHER, at once, not one by one but seen entirely as a whole. It kept on descending I noted many things, it was extremely interestingdown and down, farther and farther, right to the depths. Everything w ent on at the same time,7 simultaneously, and at the same time this supreme Consciousness was organizing everything separately.8
This descending reorganization ended exactly when the clock struck one. At that mom ent I knew that I had to go into trance for the work to be perfected, but until then I was wide awake.
--
I came out of this trance two hours later, at 3 a.m. And during these two hours I saw with a new consciousness, a new vision, and above all a NEW POWERI had a vision of the entire Work: all the people, all the things, all the systems, all of it. And it was it was differ ent in appearance (this is only because appearances depend upon the needs of the mom ent), but mainly it differed IN POWERA considerable difference. Considerable. The power itself was no longer the same.9
A truly ESS entIAL change in the body has occurred.
--
This entire experience and Mother's insistence that it all happened 'without moving,' unlike the experience of the asc ent of the Kundalini, suggests that it is the supram ental consciousness concealed in the depths of the cells, that somehow emerges and traverses all the layers until the junction is made with the most material body-consciousness.
Later, Mother added: 'The Power that was acting was no longer the power that had been acting previously.'
0 1961-01-27, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Well, yesterday I saw R. He was asking me questions about his work and particularly about the knowledge of languages (hes a scholar, you know, and very familiar with the old traditions). This put me in contact with that whole world and I began speaking to him a little about what I had already said to you concerning my experience with the Vedas. And all at once, in the same [absolute] way as I told you, when I entered into contact with that world a whole domain seemed to open up, a whole field of knowledge from the standpoint of languages, of the Word, of the ess ential Vibration, that vibration which would be able to reproduce the supram ental consciousness. It all came, so clear, so clear, luminous, indisputable but unfortunately there was no tape recorder!
It was about the Word, the primal sound. Sri Aurobindo speaks of it in Savitri: the essence of the Word and how it will express itself, how it will bring in the possibility of a supram ental expression that will take the place of languages. I began by speaking to him about the differ ent languages, their limitations and possibilities; and I warned him against the deformations imposed on languages with the idea of making them a more flexible means of expressing something else. I told him how completely ridiculous it all was, and that it didnt correspond at all to the truth. Then little by little I began ascending to the Origin. So yesterday again, I had this same experience: a whole world of knowledge, of consciousness and of CERTAINTYprecluding the least possibility of contradiction, discussion, or opposition; the possibility DOES NOT EXIST, it doesnt exist. And the mind was absolutely sil ent and immobile, listening with obvious pleasure because these things had never before come into my consciousness; I had never been concerned with them in that way. It was completely newnot new in principle but completely new in action.
0 1961-01-31, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Suffering also comes through the physical mind, because if this entity is calmed down, we no longer sufferexactly what happened to me!
The physical mind, you see, makes use of the nervous substance; if we withdraw it from the nervous substance, we no longer feel anything, for thats what gives us the perception of sensation. We know something is wrong, but we no longer suffer from it.
0 1961-02-04, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
How many, many experiences there were during those days at Tlemcen! Surely youve heard them. Were you there when I told the story about the big toad? A huge toad, covered with warts. No? The sitting room was upstairs in Theons house (the house was built on a hillside) and it was connected by large open doors to a small terrace that sat almost on top of the hill. I played the piano in this room every day. And one day, what did I see hopping in through the open bay windows but an enormous black toadenormous! He sat down on his backside right in the entrance and puffed up his throat: poff! poff! And for the whole time I played, he stayed there going Poff! poff!, as though in a state of delight! When I finished, I turned around and he gave me one last Poff! and hopped away. It was comical!
Theon also taught me how to turn aside lightning.
--
So, its time to go and we still hav ent workedonce again Ive been talking away! Dont bother noting it all down; Ive told it just for you, for your personal entertainm ent!
But many things here will interest everyone!
0 1961-02-07, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The other is to find something worth conc entrating upon that diverts your att ention from your small, personal self. The most effective is a big ideal, but there are innumerable things that enter into this category. Most commonly, people choose marriage, because it is the most easily available (Mother laughs). To love somebody and to love children makes you busy and compels you to forget your own self a little. But it is rarely successful, because love is not a common thing.
Others turn to art, others to science; some choose a social or a political life, etc., etc.
0 1961-02-11, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Last night I had a dream about you that made a vivid impression on me. Its probably absurd, but it was so real! You had called me because you were going to leave your body: you had decided to leave and you wanted somehow to say good-bye. It was so real! I came to you and for a mom ent you placed my head on your knees, and I was filled with light; it was very tender. But at the same time, I knew you were saying good-bye, you were going to leave your body, and I wept in my dream. Then I w ent to sit in a corner because there were other people who probably had come to see you as well. I remained in that corner, strickenit seemed so real, you understand! Just then, aman I didnt know entered the room (I knew he was French), a stranger dressed all in black, and he started making a loud commotion. He was smoking a pipe,2 a very coarse man, and he wanted to make all the people there, the disciples, get out of the room .3 It was so real! I awoke with a start and almost cried aloud, Ah, its a dream! Its only a dream!
Oh, it was that real!
--
Two nights ago, I saw a formation of illness over the entire Ashram, a kind of adverse formation trying to prev ent me from leaving my room, and I had to hide to get out, leave clandestinely. Oh, what a terrible atmosphere, so heavy, so grayeverybody was ill. And this formation had some actual effects because many people fell ill who normally never do. It is an adverse formation and theres no reason to concede its victory; its simply a force which doesnt want us to succeed, of courseso we need not pay att ention.
The trouble is, if I were thirty or forty years old, people wouldnt be affected. But unfortunately they think about how old I am all the time and it creates a bad atmosphere. After all, they keep saying, Mother is old and. All the usual nonsense.
--
Something from that experiencean effect, a vibratory effect, so to speakhas not left. But the totality of the experience is not here the whole time, its not established. I had a reminder of it one night, but not for very long; all at once, for a brief mom ent, this same vibration came, and my entire body was nothing other than this Vibration.
It didnt last longer than a quarter of an hour and it wasnt as total.
--
Nevertheless, a mathematical model resulting from a rec ent theory that attempts to repres ent our material universe strangely resembles Mother's perception, for it postulates a milieu consisting entirely of electromagnetic waves of very high frequency. According to this theory, Matter itself is the 'coagulation' of these waves at the mom ent they exceed a certain frequency threshold; our perception of emptiness, of fullness, of the hard or the transpar ent, being finally due only to the differences in vibratory frequencies'vibratory modes within the same thing.'
But what is this 'same thing'?
0 1961-02-18, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Right in the subconsci ent, a subconsci ent oh, hopelessly weak and dull and (how to put it?) enslaved to a host of thingsenslaved to EVERYTHING. It has been unfolding before me night after night, night after night, to show me. Last night, it was indescribable! It goes on and onit seems to have no limits! Naturally, the body feels the effects of this, poor thing! It is the bodys subconsci ent, but its not personalit is personal and not personal: it becomes personal only when it enters the body.
You cant imagine the accumulation of impressions recorded and stored in the subconsci ent, heaped one on top of another. Outwardly, you dont even notice, the waking consciousness isnt aware of it; but they come in, they keep on coming and coming, piling up hideous!
--
Sri Aurobindo et la Transformation du Monde [Sri Aurobindo and the Transformation of the World], a book that Editions du Seuil had asked Satprem to write and subsequ ently refused on the pretext that it did not conform to the 'spirit of the collection.' This book would never see the light of day. Satprem would later write another book entitled Sri Aurobindo or the Adv enture of Consciousness.
A long-time disciple (Suzanne Karpeles) and a member of the cole Franaise d'Extrme Ori ent.
0 1961-02-25, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It is quite evid ent that with these two things, you truly its what Sri Aurobindo says: you step into another world, you leave this entire hemisphere behind and enter another one. Thats the feeling.
The day its established, it will be good.
0 1961-03-04, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Look, its enthusiasm, see how beautiful it is! It must be put in water right away, otherwise. It needs vital force and water is vital force. Its lovely! What fantasy! And this one is the Consciousness one with the Divine Consciousness,1 but supram entalizedbeginning to be supram entalized. And here is a very pretty Promise of Realization2, and heres Balance3 and the Peace of Faithfulness.4
There you are, mon petit.
--
So they kept pulling in opposing directions. Ev entually they tried to set something up (which still didnt hold together), and finally they wrote me a little more clearly. (There is one very nice man involved, Y. He isnt particularly intellectual but has a lot of common sense and a very faithful hearta very good man.) Y asked me some direct questions, without beating around the bush, and I replied directly: World Union is an entirely superficial thing, without any depth, based on the fact that Sri Aurobindo said the masses must be helped to follow the progress of the elitewell, let them go ahead! If they enjoy it, let them go right ahead! I didnt say it exactly like that (I was a bit more polite!), but that was the gist of it.
Now it has all fallen flat. They are carrying on with their little activities, but its absolutely unimportant. They publish a small journal, and V, who writes for them, is far from stupid. She is rather intellig ent and I have some control over her, so I will try to stop her from writing nonsense.
--
But your name is there as Presid ent of the Sri Aurobindo Society, they said. My name is there to give an entirely material guarantee that the money donated will really and truly be used for the Work to be done and for nothing else; its only a moral and purely practical guarantee. These people ar ent even asked to understand what Sri Aurobindo has said but simply to participate. Its a differ ent matter for those in World Union, who are working for an ideal: they want to prepare the world to receive (laughing) the Supermind! Let them prepare it! It doesnt matter, they will achieve nothing at all, or very little. Its unimportant. Thats my point of view and I have told them so.
In addition, I told them it was preferable not to hold any functions herethey can be held at Tapogiri in the Himalayas, or elsewhere and this is understood. They did hold a seminar here (a perfect fiasco, besides), but it had been arranged a long time ago. They invited people who promised to come (I think very few showed up in the end), and it was of very secondary importance. Nevertheless, I told them, This is the last time; dont do it here any more. At Tapogiri, as often as you like: its a beautiful spot in the mountains, a health resort, people go there in the summer for the fresh air and to sit around and chat!
--
The truth is, VERY FEW people are ready to be here, very few. We have taken in all typeswe accept, we accept, we acceptafterwards, we sift. And the sifting goes on more and more. Actually, we accept everything, the entire earth, and then (gesture) theres a churning. And everything useless goes away.
The opposition is clearly becoming stronger and stronger, a very good signit means we are advancing. But circumstances are growing more and more difficult: the least thing becomes an opportunity to demonstrate bad will and spiteon the part of the governm ent, on the part of people here and so on. Seen from a superficial viewpoint, we are more than ever in the soup. But this makes my heart rejoice! I take it as a sign that we are getting nearer.
0 1961-03-07, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Mon petit, I dont claim to be totally universal, but in any case I am open enough to receive. You see, given the quantity of material I have taken into my consciousness, its quite natural that the body bears the consequences. There is nothing, not one wrong movem ent, that my body doesnt feel5; generally, though, things are automatically set in order (gesture indicating that Mother automatically purifies and masters the vibrations coming to her). But there are timesespecially when it coincides with a revolt of adverse forces who dont want to give up their domain and enter into battle with all their mightwhen I must admit its hard. If I had some hours of solitude it would be easier. But particularly during the period of my Playground activities, I was badgered, harassed; I would rush from one thing to the next, one thing to the next, I had no nights to speak ofnights of two and a half or three hours rest, which isnt enough, theres no time to put things in order.
Under those conditions I could only hold the thing like this (same gesture of muzzling the illness or holding it in abeyance).
0 1961-03-11, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I have a recollection of this life, for I relived it when I first became conscious of the life of the entire earth; but I cant say how long it lasted or what area it covered I dont know. I only remember the conditions at that time, the state of material Nature and the human form and human consciousness, and this state of harmony with all the other elem ents of the earth: harmony with animal life and a great harmony with plant lifethere was a kind of spontaneous knowledge of how to use the things of Nature, the qualities of plants, fruits and all that vegetal nature could offer. There was no aggressiveness, no fear, no contradictions or frictions, and no perversion the mind was pure, simple, luminous, uncomplicated.
It was certainly with the progress of evolution, the march of evolution, when the mind began to develop for and in itself, that ALL the complications, all the deformations began. Indeed, this story of Genesis that seems so childish does contain a truth. The old traditions like Genesis resembled the Vedas in that each letter6 was the symbol of a knowledge; it was the pictorial rsum of a traditional knowledge, just as the Veda contains a pictoral rsum of the knowledge of its time. But whats more, even the symbol had a reality in the sense that there was truly a period when life upon earth (the first manifestation of m entalized Matter in human forms) was still in complete harmony with all that preceded it. It was only later that.
--
This is the origin of such legends as Shangri-la. But 'psychics' most often confuse two planes of reality, attri buting to their SUBTLE vision a physical reality which it does not have or no longer has: they have merely entered into contact with the memory of a place for places, like beings, have a memory.
At first, Mother had said, 'But it's impossible.' Then, laughing, she had the word deleted.
0 1961-03-17, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
To wind it all up, I w ent to Sri Aurobindos rooman enormous, enormous room, but in the same state. And he appeared to be in an eternal consciousness, entirely detached from everything yet very clearly aware of our total incapacity.
He hadnt eaten (probably because no one had given him anything to eat), and when I entered, he asked me if it was possible to have some breakfast. Yes, of course! I said, Ill go get it, expecting to find it ready. Then I had to hunt around to find something: everything was stuffed into cupboards (and misplaced at that), all disarrangeddisgusting, absolutely disgusting. I called someone (who had been napping and came in with sleep-swollen eyes) and told him to prepare Sri Aurobindos breakfast but he had his own fixed ideas and principles (exactly as he is in real life). Hurry up, I told him, Sri Aurobindo is waiting. But hurry? Impossible! He had to do things according to his own conceptions and with a terrible awkwardness and ineptitude. In short, it took an infinite amount of time to warm up a rather clumsy breakfast.
Then I arrived at Sri Aurobindos room with my plates. Oh, said Sri Aurobindo, it has taken so long that I will take my bath first. I looked at my poor breakfast and thought, Well, I w ent to so much trouble to make it hot and now its going to get cold! All this was so sordid, so sad.
--
A sort of power over circumstances does come to me, however, as if I could rise above it all and give the subconsci ent a bit of a work-over. Naturally this has some results: entire areas are brought under control. Thats the most important thing. Individuals get the repercussions later because they are very very coagulated, a bit hard! A lack of plasticity.
Take the case of this man Im not naming Ive been training him, working with him, for more than thirty years and I still hav ent managed to get him to do things spontaneously, according to the needs of the mom ent, without all his preconceived ideas. Thats the point where he resists: when things have to be done quickly he follows his usual rule and it takes forever! This was illustrated strikingly that night. I told him, Just look: its there its THEREhurry up and warm it a little and Ill go. Ah! He didnt protest, didnt say anything, but he did things exactly according to his own preconceptions.
0 1961-03-21, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
First of all, on the m ental plane (the physical-mind, the material mind) I saw an individual. I am not entirely certain of his id entity (when I saw him last night I didnt associate him with anyone in particular) but from his outer appearance he is evid ently a sannyasi. He was pursuing me, blocking my way and trying to stop me from doing my work (it was a long, long affair). But I was very conscious and could foresee everything he was about to do, so it had no effect. After a long while I emerged from this I had something else to do and I leftand on my way home he was everywhere, hiding and trying to catch me; but he didnt succeed in doing anything. And I knew he had been acting in this manner for a long time.
Then I woke up (I always wake up three or four times during the night) and when I w ent back to bed I had an attack of what the doctor and I have taken to be filariasis but a strange type of filariasis, for as soon as I master it in one spot it appears in another, and when I master it there it reappears somewhere else. Last night it was in the arms (it lasted quite a while, between 2:30 and 4 a.m.); but I was fully conscious, and each time the attack came, I w ent like this (gestures over the arms, to drive away the attack) and my arms were not affected at all. When it was over, I consciously entered the most material subtle physical, just beyond the body. I was sitting in my room there (an immense, cubic room) reading or writing something, when I heard the door open and close, but I was busy and didnt pay att ention, presuming it was one of the people usually around me. Then suddenly I had such an unpleasant sensation in my body that I raised my head and looked, and I saw someone there. Do you know how the magicians in Europe dress, in short satin breeches and a shirt? He was wearing something like that. He was Indian, tall and rather dark, with slicked-down hairwhat you would normally call a handsome young man. He seemed to have been drawn1 there becausehe was standing in front of me staring into space, not looking at me. And the mom ent I saw him, there was the same sensation in all my cells as I have with what Ive been calling filariasis (its a special, minute kind of pain) and simultaneously all the cells felt disgusta tremendous will of rejection. Then I sat up straight (I didnt stand up) and said to him as forcefully as possible, How do you dare to come in here! I said it so loudly that the noise woke me up! I dont know what happened then, but things w ent much better afterwards.
The mom ent I saw this person I knew he was only an instrum ent, but a well-paid instrum entsomeone paid a great deal to have him do that! I would recognize him again among hundreds I can still see him I see him more clearly than with physical eyes. He is an unintellig ent man with no personal animosity, merely a very well-paid instrum entsomeone is hiding behind him, using him as a screen.
0 1961-03-25, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It seemed made of transpar ent alabasterhard, harder than stone. It was the result of an individualization that was my impressionan individualization that has become very hardened. It has tried to become entirely transpar ent but has no tangible contact with thingsthings enter only through the higher regions, through intellectual perceptions (not intellectual, a sort of m ental vision). And I began to bang on it!
It was mainly on your right side I banged on it. But strangely enough, it didnt break it became supple, but then it lost its beauty. (It was so beautiful, as though sculptured!) I tried to pass through it, but to do so (this is what I found interesting), instead of passing through at this level (the chest), the psychic plane the level of the souls vibration I had to climb up above and then descend; and finally, without even realizing it, I found myself inside I had entered through sheer force of conc entration. There, at the vital level, the emotional vital (solar plexus), I put two flowers: one very large Endurance in the Most Material Vital [zinnia] and another flower like the one X just gave me [cosmos] but bigger and pure white (it concerns sexual movem ents, light in sexual movem ents). But curiously enough, I passed inside through a trance; I was quite busy trying to make it more fluid when all at once, poof! I found myself inside. But since I entered through a trance it became completely objective: no more thought, nothing. And I saw I had put these two flowers there (at the levels of the abdomen and chest), one more active, a very large, dark purple Endurance flower, and another much smaller, pure white, slightly lower down. While I was watching this I think the clock must have struck something pulled me and it all faded away.
And I found it interesting that when I received your letter yesterday evening I conc entrated for a mom ent, almost out of curiosity: Why doesnt he ever feel he has an experience? Why doesnt he feel anything? I wanted to know precisely what type of experience would give you the feeling of having an experience!
0 1961-03-27, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
You know he said someone has been doing black magic against me; but I have never felt anything of the sort in the room where we meditate, because I make a point of coming half an hour early and this of course clears the atmosphere: everything is always ready when he arrives, in silence, in perfect peace. Hasnt he always told you that when he comes into that room he enters another world, like Kailas?1 And thats the way it has always been. If there has been a change, its that now its even more like thatbecause (how to put it?) its more stable. Before, it fluctuated a bit: it came, w ent, came. But now its like a tranquil mass (Mother lowers her arms) that doesnt stir. Yesterday in particular, this was the experience: I felt him coming (when he is about to come in, I always sense something drawing me outward a little so that I wont be completely in trance and can stand up), and this prayer came so spontaneously, oh! And then (laughing) in the afternoon N. tells me, Oh, X said he had some difficulty at the start of todays meditationa hostile force was pres ent and it took him five minutes to clarify the atmosphere!
It gave me the impression you get in outer life: all the pieces more or less dovetail but with no inner unitytheres not ONE thing, not one, that is true, ess entially and always true. We know it is like that outwardly, of course; but I have always felt that with people who have an inner life, one could attain a kind of id entity of vibration and knowledge but no!
--
He was evid ently on another plane entirely.
What ruffles me is that someone like X, who has worked on himself, ought to have felt it. Why do I feel it? Because since I have been doing all this work on my body, it senses things and it is never mistaken. I have had repeated proof that it is never mistaken. When a higher vibration comes, it feels it right away! But I must say that this has only been the case since the body became very universalized. However, I was under the impression that X must have been somewhat universalized to have the powers he has, but now I dont know.
Its not that I was disappointed by his way of being, certainly not; but it has suddenly confronted me with a terrible problem: Is it impossible to live a truth in material consciousness? Is it really impossible? An absolute, I mean an absolute truthnot something entirely subjective and relative, each one living his own truth in his own manner. Will one person always be like this and the other like that and the third like something else? So that only by putting all the pieces together do we actually amount to anything and yet to what?! Is it completely impossible for absolute truth to manifest in the pres ent state of Matter? This is the problem that has seized me.
Why? Probably because I was ready to face it. But it has been posed so intensely. It was so intense that it was painful.
--
That risks a terrible misunderstanding; be careful. Perhaps he wont even remember what he said anymore. Its difficult with X because he doesnt say things with his mindit just comes like that, and then he forgets. You know how it is. Something may have made him speak. For instance, I know that with N. he almost always says unpleasant things about people and situations and this entirely results from N.s atmosphere. I have told N., He speaks like that because of your inner attitude. To one person he will say one thing, to another something completely differ ent on the same subjectit depends a great deal on who hes talking to. No, I hav ent told you all this for you to speak with X about it, I have told you because it has posed a serious problem for me.
Its best to wait and see. I put a certain force into that note I wrote this morning (I wrote it at a very early hour) and you know that a formation4 is created when I write; I willed it to go to himand he may have received it. Well see what happens. Its better not to speak of it because it might speaking is too external.
--
I probably needed the experience. You remember that type of detachm ent I spoke of when I had that experiencewhen the BODY had that experience of January 24, 1961well, it has increased to such an ext ent that it now applies to anything and everything linked with action on earth. This detachm ent was probably necessary. It began with something like things dissolving (Mother makes a gesture of crumbling something between her fingers); certain kinds of links between my consciousness and the Work were dissolving (not links with me, because I dont have any, but with the body; the whole physical consciousness, all that attaches it to the things in its environm ent, to the Work and to the entourage I spoke to you about that in regard to physical immortality; well, thats what is happening now). Its like things dissolvingdissolving, dissolving, dissolving. And its more and more pronounced. During these last days, things have been becoming increasingly difficultdifficulties have been coming one after another, one after another. Formerly, I had the power to get a grip on them and hold them (Mother tightens her grip as though mastering circumstances); but now that this type of detachm ent has begun, things drift away everywhereeverywhere, everywhere.
So this episode with X is probably part of the same process. What has been affected is a certain confidence in the REALITY of the Power, the REALITY of spiritual action; there seems to be no communication between here (above) and there (below).
--
Yesterday I had such a strong feeling that ALL constructions, all habits, all ways of seeing, all ordinary reactions, were all crumbling awaycompletely. I felt I was suspended in something entirely differ ent, something I dont know.
(silence)
0 1961-04-07, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
You have to look at all this with a smile, of course (and I do), but I must say that the enthusiastic side (you know, that fire of enthusiasm) has been dampened. Well, theres no need to get excitedit will take time.
We just have to keep on going, keep on moving: one step after another, one step after another, one step after another, without asking how many steps its going to take, or recalling how many weve taken.
--
But the indispensable foundation is truly an indomitable courage and unflinching endurancefrom the most material cells of the body to the highest consciousness, from top to bottom, entirely. Without that, were pretty useless.
And I am really in the most favorable conditions, because my body says yes. It says yes, yes, yesit doesnt complain. This may be the sense behind all this illness and difficulty. Not a single day of complaint.
0 1961-04-12, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
You know, I made a pact with cats, with the King of the Catsit goes back very, very far. And its extraordinary (it happened in Tlemcen, entirely on the occult plane), extraordinary! For certain reasons, the King of the Cats gave me a power over these creaturesand its true. Only I have to see them.
We shall try.
--
But I have had some cats. I had a cat who was the reincarnation of the mind of a Russian woman. I had a vision of it one day, it was so strangethis woman had been murdered at the time of the Russian Revolution, along with her two little children. And her mind entered a cat here. (How? I dont know.) But this cat, mon petit. I got her when she was very young. She would come and lie down, stretched out like a human being, with her head on my arm! (I used to sleep on a Japanese tatami on the floor.) And she would stay there, so well-behaved, didnt stir all night long! I was really amazed. Then she had kittens, and wanted to give birth to them lying stretched out, not at all like a cat. It was very difficult to make her understand that it couldnt be done that way! And one night after she had had her kittens, I saw her I saw a young woman in furs, with a fur bonnetyou could just see a tiny human face; she had two little ones and she came to me and placed them at my feet. Her whole story was there in her consciousness: how she and the two children had been murdered. And then I realized she was the cat!
The cat wouldnt leave her kittens for a mom ent! Not for anything. She wouldnt eat, wouldnt go outside to relieve herself, nothing: she stayed put. So I told her, Bring me your kittens. (If you know how to handle them, cats understand very well when theyre spoken to.) Bring me your little ones. She looked at me, w ent and brought one of her kittens, and placed it between my feet. Then she w ent to fetch the other one and placed it between my feet (not beside, between my feet). Now you can go out, I told her. And out she w ent.
--
Once this cat was stung by a scorpion. A foolhardy youngster, he used to play with scorpions. I had to rescue him one day; I came onto the verandah just when he was playing with a big scorpion. I caught the cat, put him on my shoulder and killed the scorpion. But another time I wasnt there, and he was stung. He came inside, done for. I clearly saw the signs that he had been poisoned by a scorpion. I put him on a table and w ent to call Sri Aurobindo. Kiki has been stung by a scorpion, I said. (He was dying, almost in a coma.) Sri Aurobindo pulled up a chair, sat down facing the table and began to gaze at Kiki. This lasted about tw enty or tw enty-five minutes. Then suddenly the cat relaxed completely and fell asleep. When he woke up, he was entirely cured.
Sri Aurobindo didnt touch him, he didnt do anything; he simply gazed at him.
0 1961-04-15, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But now I have the knack of forgetting I just forget. Because when I used to remember, I had to fight for entire days. So as soon as I wake up, I erase it right away: go away! Gone!
But all night long I am fully conscious of a lot of things they cant be called trivial, but. Oh, its as though everything that can comes to tell me: You think there will be a supram ental transformation? Well then, just look: there is this and that and that and this, this one and that one, this circumstance, that thing, the world, people, things. Oh, a deluge!
--
But you know, what seems to have gone is all this illusory enthusiasm we confuse with. Sri Aurobindo speaks of it very often, and each time I read that s entence of his its like an icy shower (Mother laughs). I no longer know the exact wording, but he uses two words: illusory hopes all the human illusory hopes. It goes plunk! Well, all that has entirely gone. When I saw it I deliberately rejected it. Yes, I said to myself, we are always trying to cheer ourselves up with hopes.
(Mother turns towards the tape recorder) Dont keep all that. Its not worth it, dont keep it. Its quite useless. Take it out.
0 1961-04-18, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Let me tell you about a rec ent occurrence. E. had s ent a telegram saying that she had a perforated intestine (but it must have been something else because they operated on her only after several days, and when you are not operated on immediately in such cases, you die). Anyway, it was very serious and she was on the threshold of death that much is certain. She wrote me a letter the day before the operation (what is interesting is that now she doesnt even remember what she wrote). It was a magnific ent letter saying that she was conscious of the Divine Presence and of the Divine Plan. Tomorrow they will operate on me, she said. And I am entirely aware that this operation has ALREADY been done, that it is a fact accomplished by the Divine Will; otherwise it could be a fatal ordeal. And she said she was conscious of the supreme Wills action, in a perfect peace. It was a magnific ent letter. And the whole thing w ent off almost miraculously; she recovered in such a miraculous way that the surgeon himself said, I must congratulate you, to which she replied, How surprising! You did the operation! Yes, he said, we did the operation, but it is your body that willed to be healed, and I congratulate you for your bodys willpower. Of course she wrote to me that she knew who had been there to see that all w ent well. And this feeling of the thing being already accomplished is a beginning of the consciousness Sri Aurobindo speaks of in the Yoga of Self-Perfection, where one is simultaneously both here and there. Because, as Sri Aurobindo says, some people have managed to be entirely there, but what he has called the realization is to be both there and here simultaneously.
Of course, one might wonder what the meaning of everything here is, if it has all been already accomplished above, on an occult plane, and we are merely re-enacting it.
--
Yet for a time I was in contact with all these gods and all these things, and they had an entirely concrete reality for me; but now I read and I understand, but I cannot live it. And I dont know why. It still hasnt triggered the experience. You see, experience for me the constant, total and perman ent Experienceis that there is nothing other than the Supremeonly the Supreme that the Supreme alone exists. So when they speak of Agni or Varuna or Indra it doesnt strike a chord. However, what the Vedas succeed in doing very well is to give you the perception of your infirmity and ineptitude, of the dismal state we are in now; it succeeds wonderfully in doing that!
Yesterday, this ardor of the Flame was thereburning all to offer all. It was absolutely concrete, an intensity of vibrations; I could see the vibrationsall the movem ents of obscurity and ignorance were cast into that. And I recall a time when I was translating these hymns to Agni with Sri Aurobindo, and Agni was real for me. Well, yesterday it wasnt that, it wasnt the god Agni, it was a STATE OF BEING. It was a state of the Supreme, and as such, it was intimate, clear, intense, vibrant and living.
0 1961-04-25, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Its another thing entirely.
But then, they [the S.A.S. people] began posing as almost as teachers! Luckily, the draft of their brochure was brought to me. I said, Nothing doing. If you want to talk to people, tell them what you like, its all the same to me, but I am not publishing this. What you have written about me is not to be printed and you are not to distribute it. Im not in the picture. My name, the fact that I am presid ent, is simply to give my guarantee that the money wont go into the pockets of those who collect it but will be used for the Ashram, the running of the Ashram, and thats all. And on this basis alone I give my guarantee. I am in no way going to help people imagine they are doing a yoga! Its absurd.
--
This 'secret' is no doubt part of the Secret which this entire Agenda seeks to track down. So where to stop? And if we are indiscreet, who knows whether the secret of man is not some simian indiscretion!
***
0 1961-04-29, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I remember once going into a church (which I wont name) and I found it a very beautiful place. It wasnt a feast or ceremony day, so it was empty. There were just one or two people at prayer. I w ent in and sat down in a little chapel off to the side. Someone was praying there, someone who must have been in distressshe was crying and praying. And there was a statue, I no longer know of whom: Christ or the Virgin or a Saint I have no idea. And, oh! Suddenly, in place of the statue, I saw an enormous spider like a tarantula, you know, but (gesture) huge! It covered the entire wall of the chapel and was just waiting there to swallow all the vital force of the people who came. It was heart-rending. I said to myself, Oh, these people There was this miserable woman who had come seeking solace, who was praying there, weeping, hoping to find solace; and instead of reaching a consciousness that was at least compassionate, her supplications were feeding this monster!
I have seen other things but I have rarely seen anything favorable in churches. Here, I remember going to M I was taken inside and received there in quite an unusual waya highly respected person introduced me as a great saint! They led me up to the main altar where people are not usually allowed to go, and what did I see there! An asura (oh, not a very high-ranking one, more like a rakshasa4), but such a monster! Hideous. So I w ent wham! (gesture of giving a blow) I thought something was going to happen. But this being left the altar and came over to try to intimidate me; of course, he saw it was useless, so he offered to make an alliance: If you just keep quiet and dont do anything, I will share all I get with you. Well, I s ent him packing! The head of this Math5. It was a Math with a monastery and temple, which means a substantial fortune; the head of the Math has it all at his disposal for as long as he holds the position and he is appointed for life. But he has to name his successor and as a rule, his own life is considerably shortened by the successorthis is how it works. Everyone knew that the pres ent head had considerably shortened the life of his predecessor. And what a creature! As asuric as the god he worshipped! I saw some poor fellows throw themselves at his feet (he must have been squeezing them pitilessly), to beg forgiveness and mercyan absolutely ruthless man. But he received meyou should have seen it! I said nothing, not a word about their god; I gave no sign that I knew anything. But I thought to myself, So thats how it is!
--
In churches, I dont know. I hav ent been to them very often. I have been to mosques and templesJewish temples. The Jewish temples in Paris have such beautiful music; oh, what beautiful music! I had one of my first experiences in a temple. It was at a marriage, and the music was wonderfulSaint-Saens, I later learned; organ music, the second best organ in Pariswonderful! I was 14 years old, sitting high up in the galleries with my mother, and this music was being played. There were some leaded-glass windowswhite, with no designs. I was gazing at one of these windows, feeling uplifted by the music, when suddenly through the window came a flash like a bolt of lightning. Just like lightning. It enteredmy eyes were openit entered like this (Mother strikes her breast viol ently), and then I I had the feeling of becoming vast and all-powerful. And it lasted for days.
Of course, my mother was such an out-and-out materialist, thank God, that it was impossible to speak to her of invisible thingsshe took them as evidence of a deranged brain! Nothing counted for her but what could be touched and seen. But this was a divine grace I had no opportunity to say anything. I kept my experience to myself. But it was one of my first contacts with. I learned later that it was an entity from the past who had come back into me through the aspiration arising from the music.
But I have rarely had an experience in churches. Rather the opposite: I have very often had the painful experience of the human effort to find solace, a divine compassion falling into very bad hands.
--
At the age of eighteen, I remember having such an intense need in me to KNOW. Because I was having experiences I had all kinds of experiences but my surroundings offered me no chance to receive an intellectual knowledge which would have given me the meaning of it all: I couldnt even speak of them. I was having experience after experience. For years, I had experiences during the night (but I was very careful never to speak about them!)memories from past lives, all sorts of things, but without any base of intellectual knowledge. (Of course, the advantage of this was that my experiences were not m entally contrived; they were entirely spontaneous.) But I had such a NEED in me to know! I remember living in a house (one of these houses with a lot of apartm ents), and in the apartm ent next door were some young Catholics whose faith was very they were very convinced. And seeing all that, I remember saying to myself one day while brushing my hair, These people are lucky to be born into a religion and believe unquestioningly! Its so easy! You have nothing to do but believehow simple that makes it. I was feeling like this, and then when I realized what I was thinking (laughing), well, I gave myself a good scolding: Lazybones!
To know, know, KNOW! You see, I knew nothing, really, nothing but the things of ordinary life: external knowledge. I had learned everything I had been given to learn. I not only learned what I was taught but also what my brother was taughthigher mathematics and all that! I learned and I learned and I learned and it was NOTHING. None of it explained anything to menothing. I couldnt understand a thing!
0 1961-05-12, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I have finished my reading of the Veda. I have really tried my best, but I cannot manage to recapture that consciousness; do what I will, it seems childish to me, I dont know why. Or else I am in the presence of a realization so far removed from what we are capable of now but to enter into that we have to go behind the words, which requires a mighty effort.
If they really had that experience, it is admirable.
0 1961-05-19, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Its not entertaining to talk about.
Yes, its important.
--
When these promised things are achieved, then something like a Power will comepersonally I dont consider that I have power. For the mom ent its nothing. It is NOTHING. My conception of Power is that when this must be comes into the consciousness, well, it MUST be. But its not like that now. All the other forces, the other movem ents of consciousness, enter and interfere,4 and the usual mess results; there is a little bit of that, a bit of this, a bit of the otherin short, an approximation. Sometimes it works, but then it is.
The movem ent of initiating the action always proceeds in the same wayas something imperatively SEEN. Consequ ently, it should ALWAYS have an effect; but all kinds of things enter and cause a disturbance. So I dont call that Powerits too haphazard. But dont worry yourself over all this chatter.
Oh, listen!
0 1961-06-06, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There is such a strong impression of facing something which completely escapes comprehension, reason, intelligence, everything m ental or intellectual (even the most elevated); its not that, its. And then truly, if you stand back from it and employ big words, you would say, All this (Mother tilts her hand to one side) is Truth, and all that (she tilts her hand to the other side) is Falsehood but its the SAME thing! In one case, you have the sense of being carriednot only the body but the entire world, all circumstancescarried, floating in a beatific light towards an eternal Realization; and in the other case, its like this (Mother makes a gesture of being burdened), deadening, heavy, sorrowfulexactly the same thing! Almost the same material vibrations.
And its so subtle, so incomprehensible theres a distinct impression of it TOTALLY eluding even the highest conscious will. What is it? What is it?
0 1961-06-17, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Oh, it depends entirely upon the plane in which you find yourself! No, five differ ent people will see five differ ent things. Only when one is in marvelous accord, in an id entical vibration, as happened to me with Sri Aurobindo. But that never took the form of little stories!
Whenever there was a special force descending, or an opening, or a supram ental manifestation, we would know it at the same time, in the same manner. And we didnt even need to talk about it; we would sometimes exchange a word or two concerning the consequences, the practical effects on the work, but thats all. I never had this with anyone except Sri Aurobindo.
0 1961-06-20, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I dont know the outer X, I have been very careful not to enter into contact with him! But from the first day I sensed a gap.
Its odd!
--
See the poem entitled Self
Last Poems, C ent. Ed., Vol. V, p. 151.
0 1961-06-24, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
He might do this work in sleep, or sometimes in meditation, or in a kind of trance he enters intoit depends on the case.
I will give you a concrete example, then youll understand. When I.B. was killed, I had to gather up all his states of being and activities, which had been dispersed by the violence of the accid ent2it was terrible, he was in a dreadful state of dispersion. For two or two and a half days the doctors fought in the hope of reviving him, but it was impossible. During those two days I gathered up all his consciousness, all of it; I collected it over his body, to the point where, when it had come and formed itself there, such vitality, such life was coming back into his body that after some hours the doctors believed he would be saved. But it couldnt last (it wasnt possiblea part of the brain had come out). Well, when not only his soul but his m ental being, his vital being, and all the rest had been properly collected and organized over his body and had realized that the body had become quite unusable, it was overthey gave up the body and it was over.
--
It depends entirely upon the way people die: on the way they leave their bodies, on what is around them, on the atmosphere created for them.
If they call me, then it goes well.
--
Have I told you about the experience I had the day I suddenly found myself in Sri Aurobindos home in the subtle physical?7Well, its as if I took a step and entered a far more concrete world than the physicalmore concrete because things contain more truth. I sp ent a good while there with Sri Aurobindo and then, when it was over, I took another step and I found myself back here slightly dumbfounded. It took me quite some time to regain my bearings here, because it was this world that seemed unreal to me, not the other.
But its simply thatyou take a step, and you enter another room. And when you live in your soul there is a continuity, because the soul remembers, it keeps the whole memory; it remembers all occurrences, even outer occurrences, all the outer movem ents it has been associated with. So its a continuous, uninterrupted movem ent, here and there, from one room to another, from one house to another, from one life to another.
People are so ignorant! Thats what irritates those who have passed to the other sidepeople dont understand, they shoo them away: What does he want? Why does he bother me? Hes DEAD!
--
Do you know the story of the two simultaneous operations of E. and of T.? T. is that vice-admiral who came here and became quite enthusiastiche had a kind of inner revelation here. The two of them were operated on for a similar complaint, a dangerous ulcer in the digestive system. He was in one town and she was in another, and they were operated on a day apartboth serious operations. And in each case, after a few days had gone by, the surgeon who did the operation said, I congratulate you. Practically the same phrase in both cases. And they both protested: Why are you congratulating me? (Each one wrote me about this separately; they were living far from one another and only met afterwards.) Why? You did the operationyou should be congratulated for my quick recovery. And in both cases the doctor replied, No, no; we only operate, the body does the healing; you have healed yourself in a way which can qualify as miraculous, and I genuinely congratulate you. And then the two of them had the same reaction they wrote to me saying, We know where the miracle comes from. And they had both called me. Moreover, E. had written me a remarkable letter a few days before her operation, where she quoted the Gita as if it were quite natural for her, and told me, I know that the operation is ALREADY done, that the Lord has already done it, and so I am calm.
Things like that, everywhere and PRECISE! Something quite precise. Of course, to say that I work consciously is almost silly, its commonplace. But in many cases one may work consciously for long years without getting that precision in the result the action enters a hazy atmosphere and makes a kind of stir, and out of it comes the best that can, but no more than that. But now its exact, preciseits becoming interesting.
And now I know why this sort of impersonalization of the material individuality is so important. It is very important for the exactness of this action, so that it is onlyONLY the purest divine Will (if it can be put that way), expressing itself with a minimum of admixture. Any individualization or personalization results in admixture. But the divine Will acts like this (direct gesture).
0 1961-06-27, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I have had an oft repeated experience of reliving the past1 (its a phenomenon of consciousness, possible because everything is preserved and continues to exist somewhere), with a kind of willwhich would be the sign of a powerto change it. I dont know, but at the mom ent of reliving it, instead of reliving the past just as it had been preserved, a power to make it differ ent was introduced. I am not speaking of the power to change the consequences of the past (that is obvious and functions all the time)it wasnt that; it was the power to change the circumstances themselves (circumstances not quite material but of the subtle physical, with a predominantly psychological cont ent). And since the will was there, from the standpoint of consciousness it actually happened that is, instead of circumstances developing in one direction, they developed in another. So it must correspond to something real, otherwise I would not have had the experience. It wasnt a product of the imagination; it wasnt something one thinks of and would really like to be differ entit wasnt that; it was a phenomenon of consciousness: my consciousness was reliving certain circumstances (which are still quite living and obviously continue to exist within their own domain), but reliving them with the power and the knowledge acquired between that past mom ent and the pres ent, and with a power to change the past mom ent. A new power entered the scene and turned the circumstance being relived in a new direction. I have had this experience many times and it has always surprised meits not a phenomenon of m ental imagination, which is something else entirely.
It opens the door to everything.
0 1961-07-07, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Thats not how it is, mon petit! This is precisely how the modern Western attitude has become twisted compared to the anci ent attitude, the attitudeit isnt exactly anci entof the Gita. Its extremely difficult for the Western mind to comprehend vividly and concretely that ALL is the Divine. It is so impregnated with the Christian spirit, with the idea of a Creator the creation on one side and God on the other! Upon reflection, one rejects this, but it has entered into our sensations and feelings, and sospontaneously, instinctively, almost subconsciouslyone credits God with all one considers to be the best, the most beautiful, and especially with what one wishes to attain, to realize. (Each individual, of course, changes the cont ent of his God according to his own consciousness, but its always what he considers to be the best.) And just as instinctively, spontaneously and subconsciously, one is shocked by the idea that things one doesnt like or doesnt approve of or which dont seem to be the best, could also be God.
I am putting this purposely into rather childish terms so that it will be clearly understood. But this is the way it is. I am sure of it because I have observed it in myself for a VERY long time, and I had to. Due to the whole subconscious formation of childhoodenvironm ent, education, and so forthwe have to DRUM into this (Mother touches her body) the consciousness of Unity : the absolute, EXCLUSIVE unity of the Divineexclusive in the sense that nothing exists apart from this Unity, even the things which seem most repulsive.
0 1961-07-15, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I must say that there was a time when, as Sri Aurobindo had entrusted his work to me, there was a kind of tension to do it (it cant be called an anxiety); a tension in the will. This too has now ended (Mother stretches her arms into the Infinite). Its finished. But there MAY still be something tense lurking somewhere in the subconsci ent or the inconsci ent I dont know, its possible. Why? I dont know. I mean I have never been told, at any time, neither through Sri Aurobindo nor directly, whether or not I would go right to the end. I have never been told the contrary, either. I have been told nothing at all. And if at times I turn towards Thatnot to question, but simply to know the answer is always the same: Carry on, its not your problem; dont worry about it. So now I have learned not to worry about it; I am consciously not worried about it.
(silence)
--
Some months ago, when this body had once again become a battlefield and was confronting all the obstacles, when it was suspended, asking itself whether it wasnt wondering intellectually, but asking for a kind of perception, wanting to touch something: it wondered which direction it was taking, which way things were going to tilt. And suddenly, in all the cells, there was this feeling (and I know where it came from): If we are dissolved out of this amalgam, if this assemblage is dissolved and can no longer go on, then we shall all go straight, straight as an arrow and it was like a marvelous flamestraight to rejoin Sri Aurobindo in his supram ental world, which is right here at our door. And there was such joy! Such enthusiasm, such joy flooded all the cells! They didnt care at all whether or not they would be dissociated. Oh, they felt, so what!
This was truly a decisive stage in the work of illuminating the body.
All the cells felt far more powerful than that stupid force trying to dissolve them; what is called death, left them entirely indiffer ent: What do we care? We shall go THERE and consciously participate in Sri Aurobindos work, in the transformation of the world, one way or the otherhere, there, like this, like thatwhat does it matter!
This came more than a year ago, I think. It has never left. Never. All anxiety and all conscious tension have gone.
--
The only thing to do is to be like this (Mother turns her hands towards the Heights in a gesture of abandonm ent). Provided you dont fall asleep! You mustnt enter into a beatific state where you. No, we must keep moving on.
I dont know what to do. Its not easy.
--
Its part of an experience. I was told that NOTHING joyful should be rejected but its an entirely differ ent kind of joy, it has nothing to do with what is called joy when one lives in the vitalnothing of that! (Laughing) Its a funny kind of joy!
Since Mother began reading Sri Aurobindo's letters in On Himself, which seemed to put her into contact with all the difficulties of the Work.
0 1961-07-18, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
One thing must inevitably cease: the Deformation, the veil of falsehood covering Truth, because all we see existing here is due to that. If the veil is removed, things will necessarily be completely differ ent, completely: they will be as we experience them when we emerge individually from that deformed consciousness. When one comes out of that consciousness and enters the Truth-Consciousness, one is incredulous that such things as suffering, misery and death can exist; its amazing, in the sense that (when one is truly on the other side) one doesnt understand how all this can be happening. And, although this state of consciousness is habitually associated with the experience of the unreality of the world as we know it, Sri Aurobindo tells us that this perception of the worlds unreality need not exist for the supram ental consciousness: only Falsehood is unreal , not the world. And this is most interesting the world has its own reality, independ ent of Falsehood.
I suppose this will be the first effect of the Supermindperhaps even its first effect in the individual, because it will begin in individuals first.
--
This eye [hemorrhage], for instance, resulted from such a disorder, a very dark force that someone allowed to enter, not deliberately, not knowingly, but through weakness and ignorance, always mingled, of course, with desire and ego and all the rest. (Without desire and ego, such things would find no access but desire and ego are very widespread.) At any rate, that was plainly the cause and I sensed it immediately. Sometimes when it comes, it creeps up like this (Mother brings her hand to her throat), a black shadow strangling you. Yet inwardly nothing is affected at all, to such an ext ent that if I didnt pay att ention to the purely external reaction, I wouldnt know anything had happened (its the great Play); but externally the indication is immediate: half an hour later I had this eye hemorrhage. I was struggling against a wholly undesirable intrusion, and I knew italthough from an outer point of view, the cause was insignificant. Its not always the ev ents we consider serious or important that produce the most harmful effectsfar from it. Sometimes its an altogether INSIGNIFICANT intrusion of falsehood, for some quite insignificant reasonwhat is commonly labeled a stupidity. This stems from the fact that the adverse forces are always lying in wait, ready to rush in at the least sign of weakness.
The incomprehension generated by doubt (the kind of doubt that always results from an egoistic movem ent) is very dangerous. Very dangerous. Its not even necessary to be in a psychic consciousness even for an enlightened vital consciousness, it produces no effect; but HERE, in this material swarm.
But I dont see how all this work could be done in the solitude of the Himalayas or the forest. Theres a great risk of entering into that very impersonal, universal consciousness where things are relatively easy the material consequences are so far below that it doesnt much matter! One can act directly only in the MIDST of things.
Anyway, at the mom ent I have no choice and I am not looking for any. Things are what they are and as they are; and taking them as they are, the work has to be done. The manner of working depends on the way things are.
0 1961-07-28, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The way Theon told it, there was first the universal Mother (he didnt call her the universal Mother, but Sri Aurobindo used that name), the universal Mother in charge of creation. For creating she made four emanations: Consciousness or Light; Life; Love or Beatitude and (Mother tries in vain to remember the fourth) I must have cerebral anemia today! In India they speak only of three: Sat-Chit-Ananda (Sat is Existence, expressed by Life; Chit is Consciousness, expressed by Power; Ananda is Bliss, synonymous with Love). But according to Theon, there were four (I knew them by heart). Well, these emanations (Theon narrated it in such a way that someone not a philosopher, someone with a childlike mind, could understand), these emanations, conscious of their own power, separated themselves from their Origin; that is, instead of being entirely surrendered to the supreme Will and expressing only. Ah, the fourth emanation is Truth! Instead of carrying out only the supreme Will, they seem to have acquired a sense of personal power. (They were personalities of sorts, universal personalities, each repres enting a mode of being.) Instead of remaining connected, they cut the linkeach acted on his own, to put it simply. Then, naturally, Light became darkness, Life became death, Bliss became suffering and Truth became falsehood. And these are the four great Asuras: the Asura of Inconscience, the Asura of Falsehood, the Asura of Suffering and the Asura of Death.
Once this had occurred, the divine Consciousness turned towards the Supreme and said (Mother laughs): Well, heres what has happened. Whats to be done? Then from the Divine came an emanation of Love (in the first emanation it wasnt Love, it was Ananda, Bliss, the Delight of being which became Suffering), and from the Supreme came Love; and Love descended into this domain of Inconscience, the result of the creation of the first emanation, Consciousness Consciousness and Light had become Inconscience and Darkness. Love descended straight from the Supreme into this Inconscience; the Supreme, that is, created a new emanation, which didnt pass through the intermediate worlds (because, according to the story, the universal Mother first created all the gods who, when they descended, remained in contact with the Supreme and created all the intermediate worlds to counterbalance this fallits the old story of the Fall, this fall into the Inconsci ent. But that wasnt enough). Simultaneously with the creation of the gods, then, came this direct Desc ent of Love into Matter, without passing through all the intermediate worlds. Thats the story of the first Desc ent. But youre speaking of the desc ent heralded by Sri Aurobindo, the Supram ental Desc ent, ar ent you?
--
Now I see that these rays emanate from a recumb ent oval of white light encircled by a superb rainbow, and I sense that the one whom the light hides from my view is plunged into a profound repose. For long I remain at the outer edge of the rainbow, trying to pierce through the light and see the one who is sleeping encircled by such splendor. Unable to discern anything, I enter the rainbow, and thence into the white and shining oval. Here I see a marvelous being: stretched on what seems to be a mass of white eiderdown, his supple body, of incomparable beauty, is garbed in a long, white robe. His head rests on his folded arm, but of that I can see only his long hair, the hue of ripened wheat, flowing over his shoulders. A great and g entle emotion sweeps through me at this magnific ent spectacle, and a deep reverence as well.
Has the sleeper sensed my presence? For now he awakens and rises in all his grace and beauty. He turns towards me and his eyes meet mine, mauve and luminous eyes with a g entle, an infinitely tender expression. Wordlessly he bids me a sublime welcome and my whole being joyously responds. Taking my hand, he leads me to the couch he has just left. I stretch out on this downy whiteness, and his harmonious visage bends over me; a sweet curr ent of force enters wholly into me, invigorating, revitalizing each cell.
Then, wreathed by the splendid colors of the rainbow, enveloped by lulling melodies and exquisite perfumes, beneath his gaze so powerful, so tender, I drift into a beatific repose. And during my sleep I learn many beautiful and useful things.
0 1961-08-02, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In fact, we are the first possible instrum ents for making the world progress. For example (this is one way of putting it), the transformation of the Inconsci ent into the Subconsci ent is probably far more rapid and complete now than it was before man appeared upon earth; man is one of the first transformative elem ents. Animals are obviously more conscious than plants, but WILLED (and thus more rapid) progress belongs to humanity. Likewise, what one hopes (more than hopes!), what one expects is that when the new supram ental race comes upon earth, the work will go much more swiftly; and man will necessarily benefit from this. And since things will be done in true order instead of in m ental disorder, animals and everything else will probably benefit from it also. In other words, the whole earth, taken as one entity, will progress more and more rapidly. The Inconsci ent (oh, all this comes to me in English, thats the difficulty!) is meant to go and necessarily the Subconsci ent will go too.
Broadly speaking, does this mean that physical Matter will become conscious?
--
I had a VERY interesting experienceit was last year or the year before, I dont recall, but after I retired to my room upstairs.6 You know that during pujas these goddesses come all the timethey dont enter the body and tie themselves to it, but they do come and manifest. Well, this time I think it must have been for last years pujaDurga came (she always arrives a few days in advance and remains in the atmosphere; she is pres ent, like thisgesture as if Durga were walking up and down with Mother). I was in touch with her during my meditations upstairs, and this new Power in the body was in me then as it is in me now, and (how to put it?) I made her participate in this concept of surrender. What an experience she had, mon petit! An extraordinary experience of the joy of being connected with That. And she declared, From now on, I am a bhakta of the Lord.
It was beautiful.
0 1961-08-05, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Another detail. In several places, Sri Aurobindo speaks of the circumconsci ent or environm ental consciousness through which we enter into contact with the external world. Is this the same as the subtle physical, the subtle envelope? What is this circumconsci ent?
Its the encircling consciousness. Isnt it called the milieu in French?
--
Then comes what Theon called the nervous sub-level, which lies between this subtle physical and the vital. And it acts as a protection: if it is stable, harmonious and strong, it protects youit protects you even physicallyfrom contagious diseases, for instance, and even from accid ents. I experienced it when I was living at Val-de-Grce. It was the year I resolved to attain union with the psychic being and I was conc entrated on this from morning to night and night to morning. Every day I sp ent some time in the Luxembourg Gardens. They were right near the house, but to get there I had to go all the way down Rue du Val-de-Grce and cross Boulevard Saint Michel, where there were streetcars, automobiles, buses the whole circus. I would remain in my conc entration the whole time, and once, while crossing the boulevard, I felt a shock about this far from my body [slightly more than arms length], so spontaneously I jumped backjust enough for the streetcar to pass by. I hadnt heard anything; I was totally absorbed, and without that warning I would surely have been run over; instead, I jumped back just in time, and the streetcar sped by. I understood then that this nervous sheath was something entirely concrete, because what I had felt was not an idea of danger but a shocka material SHOCK.
So its true that as long as this envelope is strong and undamaged, you are protected. But for instance, if you are over-tired or worried or flusteredanything that brings disorder into the atmosphere seems to make holes in this envelope, and all kinds of things can enter.
Perhaps this is what Sri Aurobindo is speaking of.
--
Oh, no! Not at all. No. The cataleptic state of trance is like death, yes, except for the link that remainsonly a link remains, but otherwise one has entirely gone out. Actually, the body becomes cataleptic only when one has entirely gone out; otherwise everything that is most material in the vital remains.
I mean, ar ent the places you go to in sleep the same as the ones you go to in death?
--
The purpose of sleep is to re-establish contact with the consciousness of Sachchidananda. But I dont think one person in a hundred does so! They enter into unconsciousness far more than into Sachchidananda.
Yet no two sleeps are the same, mon petit! And its the same with deaths, no two are the same. But sleep and death are differ ent because they are differ ent STATES. As long as you have a body, you are not in the same state as when you are dead. There is a period of seven days after the doctors declare you dead when you are still in an intermediary state; but the actual state of death itself is completely differ ent BECAUSE there is no longer this physical base.
--
We all know, of course, that the Divine Consciousness is there in the depths of the Inconsci ent; but even so, sleep appears to be a fall, and there are people who fall almost completely back into the Inconsci ent and come out of their sleep far duller than when they entered it. But for some reason, probably due to the necessities of the Work, I have never to my knowledge had a fully unconscious sleep.
There was another thing (laughing): even as a young child, I would all of a sudden, right in the middle of an action or a s entence or anything at all, go into trance and nobody knew what it was! They would all think I had gone to sleep! But I remained conscious, with an arm raised or in the middle of a word and poof! No one there (Mother laughs). No one there outwardly, but inwardly quite an intense, interesting experience. That used to happen to me even when I was very young.
--
Did I tell you what happened to my brother? No? My brother was a terribly serious boy, and frightfully studiousoh, it was awful! But he also had a very strong character, a strong will, and there was something interesting about him. When he was studying to enter the Polytechnique, I studied with himit interested me. We were very intimate (there were only eighteen months between us). He was quite viol ent, but with an extraordinary strength of character. He almost killed me three times,9 but when my mother told him, Next time, you will kill her, he resolved that it wouldnt happen again and it never did. But what I wanted to tell you is that one day when he was eighteen, just before the Polytechnique exams, as he was crossing the Seine (I think it was the Pont des Arts), suddenly in the middle of the bridge he felt something descend into him with such force that he became immobilized, petrified; then, although he didnt exactly hear a voice, a very clear message came to him: If you want, you can become a godit was translated like that in his consciousness. He told me that it took hold of him entirely, immobilized hima formidable and extremely luminous power: If you want, you can become a god. Then, in the thick of the experience itself, he replied, No, I want to serve humanity. And it was gone. Of course, he took great care to say nothing to my mother, but we were intimate enough for him to tell me about it. I told him, Well (laughing), what an idiot you are!
Thats the story.
--
Three years later I had that experience Ive told you about itof the Light piercing through me; I physically saw it enter into me. It was obviously the desc ent of a Beingnot a past incarnation, but a Being from another plane. It was a golden light the incarnation of a divine consciousness. Which proves that she succeeded for both her children.
But she
0 1961-08-11, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The mom ents of forgetting are briefplunk! A knock from someone or something the shock of the ordinary vibration. Its unimportant, you turn your head and push it away. But I dont want that either, it [the movem ent of rejection] must go away entirely.
From a practical, concrete, effective standpoint, there are some results. Even when they dont write, people are beginning to receive my response very clearly, very precisely. People I dont know at all have written, and they receive my reply even before I write back (they tell this to intermediaries). I had another example only today. Its having results.
0 1961-09-16, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This morning when I was walking, the program of the day and the work ahead of me was so formidable that I felt it to be impossible. And yet simultaneously there was this immobile inner POSITION in me; as soon as I stop my movem ent of formation and action, it becomes like a dance of joy: all the cells vibrating (there is a sort of vivacity, and an extraordinary music), all the cells vibrant with the joy of the Presence the divine Presence. But when I see the outside world entering and attacking, well this joy doesnt exactly disappear, but it retreats. And the result is that I always feel like sitting down and keeping stillwhen I can do that it is marvelous. But of course, all the suggestions from outside come in: suggestions of helplessness and old age, of wear and tear, of diminishing power, all thatand I know positively that its false. But calm in the body is indispensable. Well, for me also Sri Aurobindos answer is always the same: Be simple, be simple, very simple.
And I know what he means: to deny entry to regim enting, organizing, prescriptive, judgm ental though the wants none of all that. What he calls being simple is a joyous spontaneity; in action, in expression, in movem ent, in lifebe simple, be simple, be simple. A joyous spontaneity. To rediscover in evolution that condition he calls divine, which was a spontaneous and happy condition. He wants us to rediscover that. And for days now he has been here telling me (and the same goes for your work): Be simple, be simple, be simple. And in his simplicity was a luminous joy.
A joyous spontaneity.
0 1961-10-02, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The story began with an entirely concrete and material incid ent something very amusing; this is not the first time it has happened, but it was so concrete and so precise that it became interesting. Someone was complaining of being ill, quite a serious, psychological illness: periodic possession by a spirit of falsehood, recurring regularly every month, of more or less long duration. This person comes to see me, and the mom ent shes here theres an upwelling of that profound Compassion of Love, with a considerable, conc entrated Power to drive away the possession; and all of this accompanied, even outwardly, by quite an affectionate gesture. This person leaves and within half an hour I receive a letter: Now I know: you hate me, you want me to be ill and you want me to die because I disgust you.
It was interesting because it was so concrete. I was conscious of my movem ent of compassion and love and of what it had become in the other persons consciousness!
0 1961-10-15, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The first time you read your manuscript, I called Sri Aurobindo to hear it. He was in the subtle physical and he listened. Yesterday when I sat down to listen, I thought, It would be much better if he entered my brain because that way. In fact, I called him; he entered my brain. It took some time; all through the beginning of the reading we were still two; then he came in more and more, more and more, more and more. My headmy physical headseemed to be swelling up! There was no longer space for anyone but him. It was the light that dark blue light of m ental power (but true m ental power) in the physical the tantrics use it, you always see it with Xs action, but Ive never seen it this way before! My head was full, you knowfull, full, not an atom of space to spare I could feel it swelling up!
And this light was absolutely immobilevibrationless, totally compact and coher ent. When I see Xs light, for example, there are always vibrations in it; it vibrates, vibrates, things are shifting about; out with this, not a single vibration, not one movem ent: a MASS that seemed eternally immobile but which was (how to put it?) att entive, listening. It was a volume with the form of the head, as if that had wholly taken over the head. It was full, so full, yet with no feeling of tension or of anything resisting, none at all; there was only a kind of immobile eternity and COMPACT, compact, absolutely coher ent, no vibrations. And it increased, increased more and more, it became heavy, but with a very particular heavinessnot a weight, the feeling of a mass.
--
After speaking of the desc ent of the Supermind, he said that an INTERMEDIARY must be prepared between our pres ent m ental state (even the most elevated higher mind) and the supram ental region, because if one entered directly into Gnosis, well, it would produce such an abrupt change that our physical constitutions would be unable to support itan intermediary is needed. The experiences Ive had make me absolutely convinced of it; twice the supram ental world took veritable possession of me and both times it was as if the bodytruly the physical bodywas going to completely disintegrate, due to what you could almost call the opposition of the two conditions.
And yesterday again I clearly saw (Mother touches this mass in her head). My eyes are full of it my eyes are full, you know, and I see that as it works to settle itself in here, it produces this little vibrationa twinkling of vibrationswhich seems to be indispensable for it to enter into this Matter.
But whats interesting is that it produced neither headache, nor malaise, nor anything of the kind; yet neither was there any great joy or satisfaction. It is the words we use always take on a pejorative tone and spoil it, but the difference between our habitual way of functioning and this new way is something so tremendous and overwhelming that an adaptation is evid ently required. And he always said that the adaptation would at first be a diminution, and that only gradually could one regain the original purity. Thats just how it is.
0 1961-10-30, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The secret lies in matter. Because Agni is imprisoned in matter and we ourselves are imprisoned there. It is said that Agni is without head or feet, that it conceals its two extremities: above, it disappears into the great heaven of the supraconsci ent (which the Rishis also called the great ocean), and below, it sinks into the formless ocean of the inconsci ent (which they also called the rock). We are truncated. But the Rishis were men of a solid realism, a true realism resting upon the Spirit; and since the summits of mind opened out upon a lacuna of lightecstatic, to be sure, but with no hold over the worldthey set upon the downward way.6 Thus begins the quest for the lost sun, the long pilgrimage of desc ent into the inconsci ent and the merciless fight against the dark forces, the thieves of the sun, the panis and vritras, pythons and giants, hidden in the dark lair with the whole cohort of usurpers: the dualizers, the confiners, the tearers, the COVERERS. But the divine worker, Agni, is helped by the gods, and in his quest he is led by the intuitive ray, Sarama, the heavenly hound with the subtle sense of smell who sets Agni on the track of the stolen herds (strange, shining herds). Now and again there comes the sudden glimmer of a fugitive dawn then all grows dim. One must advance step by step, digging, digging, fighting every inch of the way against the wolves whose savage fury increases the nearer one draws to their denAgni is a warrior. Agni grows through his difficulties, his flame burns more brilliantly with each blow from the Adversary; for, as the Rishis said, Night and Day both suckled the divine Child; they even said that Night and Day are the two sisters, Immortal, with a common lover [the sun] common they, though differ ent their forms (I.113.2,3). These alternations of night and brightness accelerate until Day breaks at last and the herds of Dawn7 surge upward awakening someone who was dead (I.113.8). The infinite rock of the inconsci ent is shattered, the seeker uncovers the Sun dwelling in the darkness (III.39.5), the divine consciousness in the heart of Matter. In the very depths of Matter, that is to say, in the body, on earth, the Rishis found themselves cast up into Light that same Light which others sought on the heights, without their bodies and without the earth, in ecstasy. And this is what the Rishis would call the Great Passage. Without abandoning the earth they found the vast dwelling place, that dwelling place of the gods, Swar, the original Sun-world that Sri Aurobindo calls the Supram ental World: Human beings [the Rishis emphasize that they are indeed men] slaying the Coverer have crossed beyond both earth and heaven [matter and mind] and made the wide world their dwelling place (I.36.8). They have entered the True, the Right, the Vast, Satyam, Ritam, Brihat, the unbroken light, the fearless light, where there is no longer suffering nor falsehood nor death: it is immortality, amritam.
***
0 1961-11-05, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
As soon as you enter the occult world, its fantastic what can exist and be lived there but thats for later, when the time comes to speak of such things.
At any rate, you understand that Im not very keen on having Richard introduced into the book the simple fact of m entioning him attracts him.3
--
As a matter of fact, the books he wrote (especially the first one, The Living Ether) were based on my knowledge; he put my knowledge into French and beautiful French, I must say! I would tell him my experiences and he would write them down. Later he wrote The Gods (it was incomplete, one-sided). Then he became a lawyer and entered politics (he was a first-class orator and fired his audiences with enthusiasm) and was s ent to Pondicherry to help a certain candidate who couldnt manage his election campaign single-handed. And since Richard was interested in occultism and spirituality, he took this opportunity to seek a Master, a yogi. When he arrived, instead of involving himself in politics, the first thing he did was announce, I am seeking a yogi. Someone said to him, Youre incredibly lucky! The yogi has just arrived. It was Sri Aurobindo, who was told, Theres a Frenchman asking to see you. Sri Aurobindo wasnt particularly pleased but he found the coincidence rather interesting and received him. This was in 1910.
When Richard had finished his work, he returned to France with a poor photograph of Sri Aurobindo and a completely superficial impression of him, yet with the feeling that Sri Aurobindo KNEW (he hadnt at all understood the man that Sri Aurobindo was, he hadnt felt the presence of an Avatar, but he had sensed that he had knowledge). Moreover, I think he always held this opinion, because he used to say that Sri Aurobindo was a unique intellectual giant without many spiritual realizations! (The same type of stupidity as Romain Rollands.) Well, my relationship with Richard was on an occult plane, you see, and its difficult to touch upon. What happened was far more exciting than any novel imaginable.
--
No, its not true! This was never intended, never! The Arya was bilingual, one part in French and one in English, but it was one and the same magazine published here in Pondicherry. There was never any question of publishing anything in France; this is incorrect, entirely falsea myth. Besides, it was I who translated the English into French, and rather poorly at that!
I have noticed that as soon as one speaks of Richard one is unwittingly led to tell lies. Thats why I am so terribly careful to avoid the subject.
0 1961-11-07, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There is also what Theon and Madame Theon used to say. They never spoke of Supermind, but they said the same thing as the Vedas, that the world of Truth must incarnate on earth and create a new world. They even picked up the old phrase from the Gospels, new heavens and a new earth,1 which is the same thing the Vedas speak of. Madame Theon had this experience and she gave me the indication (she didnt actually teach me) of how it was to be done. She would go out of her body and become conscious in the vital world (there were many intermediary states, too, if one cared to explore them). After the vital came the m ental: you consciously w ent out of the vital body, you left it behind (you could see it) and you entered the m ental world. Then you left the m ental body and entered into. They used differ ent words, another classification (I dont remember it), but even so, the experience was id entical. And like that, she successively left twelve differ ent bodies, one after another. She was extremely developed, you seeindividualized, organized. She could leave one body and enter the consciousness of the next plane, fully experience the surroundings and all that was there, describe it and so on, twelve times.
I learned to do the same thing, and with great dexterity; I could halt on any plane, do what I had to do there, move around freely, see, observe, and then speak about what I had seen. And my last stage, which Theon called pathtisme,2 a very barbaric but very expressive word, bordered on the Formlesshe sometimes used the Jewish terminology, calling the Supreme The Formless. (From this last stage one passed to the Formless there was no further body to leave behind, one was beyond all possible forms, even all thoughtforms.) In this domain [the last stage before the Formless] one experienced total unityunity in something that was the essence of Love; Love was a manifestation more dense, he would always say (there were all sorts of differ ent densities); and Love was a denser expression of That, the sense of perfect Unityperfect unity, id entitywith no longer any forms corresponding to those of the lower worlds. It was a Light! An almost immaculate white light, yet with something of a golden-rose in it (words are crude). This Light and this Experience were truly wonderful, inexpressible in words.
--
But it isnt necessary to have all those experiences, not at allSri Aurobindo never did. (Theon didnt have experiences, either; he had only the knowledgehe made use of Madame Theons experiences.) Sri Aurobindo told me he had never really entered the unconsciousness of samadhi for him, these domains were conscious; he would sit on his bed or in his armchair and have all the experiences.
Naturally, its preferable to be in a comfortable position (its a question of security). If you v enture to do these kinds of things standing up, for instance, as I have seen them done, its dangerous. But if one is quietly stretched out, there is no need for trance.
0 1961-11-16a, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In the middle of my walk, I go into trance, something that has never happened to me before! I find myself standing, immobilized, entirely surrounded by white light, in total silence, with absolutely nothing in my headnothing.
Standing up in that state is rather dangerous, so I lie down on my bed. And it continues I hear nothing, see nothing but this white light. No more thought, not one idea in my head, nothing at all, to such an ext ent that if anyone enters noiselessly, I dont know it. But I do feel the pressure of someone watching me; I can sense it, so I open my eyes and there is actually someone there.
But work, mon petit. I cant work. I cant remember even the simplest things I am supposed to remember! I wanted to tell you when my free days were, but I no longer recall them.
0 1961-12-16, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It was this need, this need. All the bodys cells began to vibrate with a more and more intense vibrationit was much more than a need; it was a necessity, a necessity to vibrate in unison with Truth. The cells seemed to be sensing the vibration of Truth, and so the entire body was in a state of total tensionnot tension in the ordinary sense, but it was like trying to find a note that rings true. Thats what it was: to make the cells vibration ring true to the Vibration of Truth.
But you cant get that down on paper!
--
Last year there was a conflict between Krishna on one side (he came, I saw him), and some kind of spirit coming from Shiva; Krishna was playing, and the two of them were constantly quarreling! One wanted it to be like this, with roseate colorations, and the other wanted it all in blues and silvers. And then suddenly, as I was playing (in fact, it was the last time I played and it had started off entirely with Krishna and was going quite well) but suddenly something came like the blow of a fist (gesture of a blow to the arm), wham! I completely lost my balancereally I almost.
But then here I am, watching it all, enjoying myself immensely! Its very interesting.
0 1961-12-20, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Dear Sir I must begin by telling you that although this text is an excell ent essay, it is not, in its pres ent form, a book for the Spiritual Masters series. Let us enumerate the reasons for this. First of all, the general impression is of an ABSTRACT text. I can straight-away imagine your reaction to this and I dread misunderstandings! But putting myself in the readers place, since, once again, it does involve a collection intended for a wide public that we are beginning to know well, I can assure you that this public will not be able to follow page after page of reflections upon what one is bound to call a philosophical and spiritual system. Obviously this impression is caused primarily by the fact that you have begun with tw enty-one pages where the reader is assumed to already know of Sri Aurobindos historical existence and the cont ent of the Vedas and the Upanishads, plus I dont know how many other notions of rite, truth, divinity, wisdom, etc., etc. In my view, and the solution is going to appear cruel to you, for you certainly value these tw enty-one pages [on the Secret of the Veda], they should purely and simply be deleted, for everything you say there, which is very rich in meaning, can only become clear when one has read what follows. There are many books in which readers can be asked to make the effort entailed in not understanding the beginning until they have read the end: but not books of popular culture. One could envisage an introduction of three or four pages to situate the spiritual climate and cultural world in which Sri Aurobindos thought has taken place, provided, however, that it is suffici ently descriptive, and not a pre-synthesis of everything to be expounded upon in what follows. In a general way you are going to smile, finding me quite Cartesian! But the readership we address is more or less permeated by a widespread Cartesianism, and you can help them, if you like, to reverse their methodology, but on the condition that you make yourself understood right from the start. Generally, you dont make enough use of analysis and, even before analysis, of a description of the realities being analyzed. That is why the sections of pure philosophical analysis seem much too long to us, and, even apart from the abstract character of the chapter on evolution (which should certainly be shorter), one feels at a positive standstill! After having waited pati ently, and sometimes impati ently, for some light to be thrown on Sri Aurobindos own experience, one reads with genuine amazem ent that one can draw on energies from above instead of drawing on them from the material nature around oneself, or from an animal sleep, or that one can modify his sleep and render it conscious master illnesses before they enter the body. All of that in less than a page; and you conclude that the spirit that was the slave of matter becomes again the master of evolution. But how Sri Aurobindo was led to think this, the experiences that permitted him to verify it, those that permit other men to consider the method transmittable, the difficulties, the obstacles, the realizationsdoesnt this constitute the essence of what must be said to make the reader understand? Once again, it is the question of a pedagogy intimately tied in with the spirit of the collection. Let me add as well that I always find it deplorable when a thought is not expressed purely for its own sake, but is accompanied by an aggressive irony towards concepts which the author does not share. This is pointless and harms the ideas being pres ented, all the more so because they are expressed in contrast with caricatured notions: the allusions you make to such concepts as you think yourself capable of evoking the soul, creation, virtue, sin, salvationwould only hold some interest if the reader could find those very concepts within himself. But, as they are caricatured by your pen, the reader is given the impression of an all too easily obtained contrast between certain ideas admired and others despised. Whereas it would be far more to the point if they corresponded to something real in the religious consciousness of the West. I have too much esteem for you and the spiritual world in which you live to avoid saying this through fear of upsetting you.
Amen.
--
Seen from the European angle, Sri Aurobindo repres ents an immense spiritual revolution, redeeming Matter and the creation, which to the Christian religion is fundam entally a fallits really unclear how what has come from God could become so bad, but anyway, better not be too logical! its a fall. The creation is a fall. And thats why they are far more easily convinced by Buddhism. I saw this particularly with Richard, whose education was entirely in European philosophy, with Christian and positivist influences; under these two influences, when he came into contact with Theons cosmic philosophy and later Sri Aurobindos revelation, he immediately explained, in his Wherefore of the Worlds, that the world is the fruit of DesireGods desire. Yet Sri Aurobindo says (in simple terms), God created the world for the Joy of the creation, or rather, He brought forth the world from Himself for the Joy of living an objective life. This was Theons thesis too, that the world is the Divine in an objective form, but for him the origin of this objective form was the desire to be. All this is playing with words, you understand, but it turns out that in one case the world is reprehensible and in the other it is adorable! And that makes all the difference. To the whole European mind, the whole Christian spirit, the world is reprehensible. And when THAT is pointed out to them, they cant stand it.
So the very normal, natural reaction against this attitude is to negate the spiritual life: lets take the world as it is, brutally, materially, short and sweet (since it all comes to an end with this short life), lets do all we can to enjoy ourselves now, suffer as little as possible and not think of anything else. Having said that life is a condemned, reprehensible, anti-divine thing, this is the logical conclusion. Then what to do? We dont want to do away with life, so we do away with the Divine.
--
For example, the importance of the departure2: how he was pres ent the whole time I was away; how he guided my entire life in Japan; how. Of course, it would be seen in the mirror of my own experience, but it would be Sri Aurobindonot me, not my reactions: him; but through my experience because thats all I can speak of.
There would be interesting things even for.
--
I dont know, Im putting it poorly, but this experience was concrete to the point of being physical. It happened in a Japanese country-house where we were living, near a lake. There was a whole series of circumstances, ev ents, all kinds of thingsa long, long story, like a novel. But one day I was alone in meditation (I have never had very profound meditations, only conc entrations of consciousness Mother makes an abrupt gesture showing a sudden ingathering of the entire being); and I was seeing. You know that I had taken on the conversion of the Lord of Falsehood: I tried to do it through an emanation incarnated in a physical being [Richard]7, and the greatest effort was made during those four years in Japan. The four years were coming to an end with an absolute inner certainty that there was nothing to be done that it was impossible, impossible to do it this way. There was nothing to be done. And I was intensely conc entrated, asking the Lord, Well, I made You a vow to do this, I had said, Even if its necessary to descend into hell, I will descend into hell to do it. Now tell me, what must I do?The Power was plainly there: suddenly everything in me became still; the whole external being was completely immobilized and I had a vision of the Supreme more beautiful than that of the Gita. A vision of the Supreme.8 And this vision literally gathered me into its arms; it turned towards the West, towards India, and offered meand there at the other end I saw Sri Aurobindo. It was I felt it physically. I saw, sawmy eyes were closed but I saw (twice I have had this vision of the Supremeonce here, much later but this was the first time) ineffable. It was as if this Immensity had reduced itself to a rather gigantic Being who lifted me up like a wisp of straw and offered me. Not a word, nothing else, only that.
Then everything vanished.
0 1961-12-23, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There is something deeper. And within this deeper thing there was: quiet, quiet, quiet, we will wait; and the impression (but vague, distant and uncertain) of some attempt being made to introduce a very good possibility into the atmosphere. I never see on the purely physical plane, you know (its always on the subtle physical, the plane of possibilities thats more real to me; the purely physical generally eludes me, but I see the subtle physical clearly), and I was seeing I dont know, it was like something higher, from above, trying to make someone enter the field of possibilities, a brain that would suddenly be touched by the book and reverse the situation. I dont know who, I dont know what, I dont know how. Ah, you know that yellow rose I just gave you? Its fringed in pink. Well, what came was like a slender pink fringe winding through the atmosphere of this situation.
Its possibleall is possible!
--
Because there comes a time when one perceives the entire universe in such a total and comprehensive way that, in truth, it is impossible to remove anything from it without disturbing everything. And going a couple of steps further, one knows for certain that things which shock us as contradictions of the Divine are simply things out of place. Each thing must be exactly in its place, and whats more, be supple enough, plastic enough, to admit into a harmonious, progressive organization all the new elem ents constantly being added to the manifest universe. The universe is in a perpetual movem ent of internal reorganization, and at the same time its growing: its becoming more and more complex, more and more complete, more and more integralindefinitely. And as the new elem ents manifest, the whole reorganization must be built on a new basis, and thus there isnt a second when ALL is not in perpetual movem ent. And when the movem ent is in accord with the divine order, its harmonious, so perfectly harmonious that its almost imperceptible. Now, if you descend from this consciousness towards a more external consciousness, you begin naturally to have a very precise feeling of what helps you attain the true consciousness and what bars the way or pulls you backwards or even fights against your progress. And so the perspective changes and you are obliged to say: this is divine or a help towards the Divine; and that goes against the Divine, its the Divines enemy. But this is a pragmatic standpoint, geared to action, to movem ent in material lifebecause you hav ent yet attained the consciousness surpassing all that; because you hav ent reached that inner perfection where you no longer have to fight, since you have gone beyond the field or the time or the utility of struggle. But before reaching that state in your consciousness and action, there is necessarily struggle; and if there is struggle, there is choice; and to choose, you need discrimination.
(Mother remains sil ent)
--
And in the experience there was no difference between my physical and my inner being (actually, its that way more and more for me); even physically, externally, there was a kind of love full of adoration, and so spontaneousnot even any sense of wonder! And there was such a formidable Power in it, formidable from the standpoint of the entire earth. It lasted one hour. After an hour, the experience slowly began to fade (it had to fade for purely practical reasons). But it left me so confid ent of a radical changenot a total change, for it wasnt perman ent but so radical that even outwardly, way down below in me, something was saying, Ah, how will the meditations with X be now? I caught Myself not thinking, not myself: someone thought like that, somewhere way down below. This pulled me out of the experience and I wondered, Thats strange, whos thinking like that? It was one of the personalities4 (in terms of work, its the one that gives each action its proper place), someone way down below, spontaneously feeling: But thats going to change the meditations! What will they be like now? When I returned and began to look at things with the usual discernm ent, I told myself that perhaps there actually will be a change.
But truly, EVERYTHING was changed at that mom ent: something was achieved. It was the perception of Power the Power that comes from Love (what Love is to the Supreme Consciousness, which has nothing to do with what we usually mean by the word love). And it was it was simple! None of those complications resulting from thought, intellect, understandingall that was gone, all gone. A formidable Power! And it made me understand one thing, that the state I had been put in (by the Lord of Yoga, in fact) was for obtaining the particular power that comes through an id entity with all material things, a power possessed by certain personsnot always yogis, certain mediums, for instance. I saw it with Madame Theon: she would will a thing to come to her instead of going to the thing herself; instead of going to get her sandals when she wanted them, she made the sandals come to her. She did this through a capacity to radiate her mattershe exercised a will over her matterher c entral will acted upon matter anywhere, since she WAS THERE. With her, then, I saw this power in a methodical, organized way, not as something accid ental or spasmodic (as it is with mediums), but as an organization of Matter. And so I began to understand: With this comes the power to put each thing in its place! provided one is universal enough.
0 1962-01-09, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
They immediately called me back. Thats how it was. Then when he came to me, when I really saw what had happened, when he w ent out of his body and entered into mine (the most material part of him, the part involved with external things) and I understood that I had the entire responsibility for all the work AND for the sadhana7well, then I locked a part of me away, a deep psychic8 part that was living, beyond all responsibility, in the ECSTASY of the realization: the Supreme. I took it and locked it away, I sealed it off and said, Youre not moving until until all the rest is ready.
(silence)
That in itself was a miracle. If I hadnt done it I would have followed himand there would have been no one to do the Work. I would have followed him automatically, without even thinking about it. But when he entered into me, he said, You will do the work; one of us had to go, and I am going, but you will do the work.
And that door was opened again only ten years later, in 1960. Even then, it was done with great careit was one of last years major difficulties.
0 1962-01-12 - supramental ship, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Another thing I didnt m ention to you when I related the experience was that the ship had no engine. Everything was set in motion through will powerpeople, things (even the clothes people wore were a result of their will). And this gave all things and every persons shape a great suppleness, because there was an awareness of this willwhich is not a m ental will but a will of the Self, what could be called a spiritual will or a soul-will (to give the word soul that particular meaning). I have that experience right here when theres an absolute spontaneity in action, I mean when the action for instance, an utterance or a movem entis not determined by the mind, and not even (not to m ention thought or intellect), not even by the mind that usually sets us in motion. Generally, when we do something, we can perceive in ourselves a will to do it; when you watch yourself, you see this: there is always (it can happen in a flash) the will to do. When you are conscious and watch yourself doing something, you see in yourself the will to do itthis is where the mind intervenes, its normal interv ention, the established order in which things happen. But the supram ental action is decided by a leap over the mind. The action is direct, with no need to go through the mind. Something enters directly into contact with the vital c enters and activates them without going through the mindyet in full consciousness. The consciousness doesnt function in the usual sequence, it functions from the c enter of spiritual will straight to matter.
And so long as you can keep that absolute immobility in the mind, the inspiration is absolutely pureit comes pure. When you can catch and hold onto this while youre speaking, then what comes to you is unmixed too, it stays pure.
0 1962-01-15, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
He stopped at the subtle physicalhe refused to go any farther. It was Satan, the Asura1 of Light who, in cutting himself off from the Supreme, fell into Unconsciousness and Darkness (Ive told the story many times). But anyway, when I was with Thon, I summoned that being and asked him if he wanted to enter into contact with the earth. Its worth m entioning that Thon himself was an incarnation of the Lord of Death Ive had good company in my life! And the other one [Richard] was an incarnation of the Lord of Falsehood but it was only partial. With Thon too it was partial. But with Satan it was the c entral being; of course, he had millions of emanations in the world, but this was the c entral being in person. The others lets keep that for another time.
He agreed to take on a body. Theon wanted to keep him there: Dont let him go, he told me. I didnt answer. This being told me he didnt want to be more material than that, it was suffici entyou could feel him move the way you feel a draft, it was that concrete.
0 1962-01-21, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The system of getting rid of things by anubhava [experience] can also be a dangerous one; for on this way one can easily become more entangled instead of arriving at freedom. This method has behind it two well-known psychological motives. One, the motive of purposeful exhaustion, is valid only in some cases, especially when some natural tendency has too strong a hold or too strong a drive in it to be got rid of by vicra [intellectual reflection] or by the process of rejection and the substitution of the true movem ent in its place; when that happens in excess, the sadhak has sometimes even to go back to the ordinary action of the ordinary life, get the true experience of it with a new mind and will behind and then return to the spiritual life with the obstacle eliminated or else ready for elimination. But this method of purposive indulgence is always dangerous, though sometimes inevitable. It succeeds only when there is a very strong will in the being towards realisation; for then indulgence brings a strong dissatisfaction and reaction, vairagya, and the will towards perfection can be carried down into the recalcitrant part of the nature.
The other motive for anubhava is of a more general applicability; for in order to reject anything from the being one has first to become conscious of it, to have the clear inner experience of its action and to discover its actual place in the workings of the nature. One can then work upon it to eliminate it, if it is an entirely wrong movem ent, or to transform it if it is only the degradation of a higher and true movem ent. It is this or something like it that is attempted crudely and improperly with a rudim entary and insuffici ent knowledge in the system of psycho-analysis. The process of raising up the lower movem ents into the full light of consciousness in order to know and deal with them is inevitable; for there can be no complete change without it. But it can truly succeed only when a higher light and force are suffici ently at work to overcome, sooner or later, the force of the tendency that is held up for change. Many, under the pretext of anubhava, not only raise up the adverse movem ent, but support it with their cons ent instead of rejecting it, find justifications for continuing or repeating it and so go on playing with it, indulging its return, eternising it; afterwards when they want to get rid of it, it has got such a hold that they find themselves helpless in its clutch and only a terrible struggle or an interv ention of divine grace can liberate them.Some do this out of a vital twist or perversity, others out of sheer ignorance; but in yoga, as in life, ignorance is not accepted by Nature as a justifying excuse. This danger is there in all improper dealings with the ignorant parts of the nature; but none is more ignorant, more perilous, more unreasoning and obstinate in recurrence than the lower vital subconscious and its movem ents. To raise it up prematurely or improperly for anubhava is to risk suffusing the conscious parts also with its dark and dirty stuff and thus poisoning the whole vital and even the m ental nature. Always therefore one should begin by a positive, not a negative experience, by bringing down something of the divine nature, calm, light, equanimity, purity, divine strength into the parts of the conscious being that have to be changed; only when that has been suffici ently done and there is a firm positive basis, is it safe to raise up the concealed subconscious adverse elem ents in order to destroy and eliminate them by the strength of the divine calm, light, force and knowledge. Even so, there will be enough of the lower stuff rising up of itself to give you as much of the anubhava as you will need for getting rid of the obstacles; but then they can be dealt with with much less danger and under a higher internal guidance.
***
--
When Satprem published extracts from this conversation in the Ashram Bulletin of April 1962, Mother had this passage modified (over his protests). Instead of "Do not try to be virtuous," she put "Do not try to seem virtuous"; and she added: "There's a drawback here. People never understand anything, or rather they understand everything in their own way. They would take this s entence as an encouragem ent to get into mischief, to misbehave, to entertain wrong feelings, and then proclaim, 'We are the Lord's favorites!' ... There was something like it in one of Sri Aurobindo's letters, you remembera letter to people who wanted to bring all the impurities in themselves out to the surface; he told them that was definitely not the way!" (See Sri Aurobindo's two letters on psychoanalysis in the Addendum)
Letters on Yoga, C ent. Ed., XXIV. 1605 ff.
0 1962-01-27, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And once the world has become like that, has become the vital world in all its darkness, and they, from this vital world, have created Matter, the supreme Mother sees (laughing) the result of her first four emanations and She turns towards the Supreme in a great entreaty: Now that this world is in such a dreadful state, it has to be saved! We cant just leave it this way, can we? It has to be saved, the divine consciousness must be given back to it. What to do? And the Supreme says, Thrust yourself into a new emanation, an emanation of the ESSENCE of Love, down into the most material Matter. That meant plunging into the earth (the earth had become a symbol and a repres entation of the whole drama). Plunge into Matter. So She plunged into Matter, and that became the primordial source of the Divine within material substance. And from there (as is so well described in Savitri), She begins to act as a leaven in Matter, raising it up from within.
And as She plunged into the earth, a second series of emanations was s ent forth the godsto inhabit the intermediary zones between Sachchidananda and the earth. And these gods (laughing) well, great care was taken to make them perfect, so they wouldnt give any trouble! But they are a bit a bit too perfect, ar ent they? Yes, a bit too perfect: they never make mistakes, they always do exactly as theyre told. In short, rather lacking in initiative. They do have some, but.
0 1962-02-03, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But Sujata, for example, was completely, COMPLETELY free of the whole (what shall I say?) what could be called the unhappy aspect of her karmacompletely free. For I know the people around me and what they carry with them very well, and there was nothingjust one thing remained, the one part that was rather constructive, so I had left that totally intact. And when the ev ents of her past life were revealed to her, I took the greatest care to destroy the revelation as it was being given. And I did it ruthlessly. You see, it was like dumping a load of mud on someone completely unsullied, and I didnt let it happen (I couldnt stop what entered through her physical brain, but inwardly I utterly annihilated it). The only thing I left untouched was the constructive part of the bond that had existed between you two, and so when she met you, she. Thats all I left, because it was good, pure, lovelyit was good. But all the rest. And you saw how strongly I protested when I was told she had committed suicide. No, no, no! I said; even if somebody with perfect knowledge were to tell me so, Id still say NO.
She is untainted by all thatpure and I wont stand for someone pure to be soiled. She was so much my child that after her death everything was carefully cleansed, arranged, put back in place, organized, purified. So she returned unblemished and pure, and I dont want her soiled.
--
This analogy is very apt down here on this plane, but for the higher realms it doesnt applyup there its just the opposite! As long as you remain the archer, touching one point, thats how it is; all intelligence below is like that, seeing all sorts of possibilities, so it cant make a choice and act. To see the whole target, the all-inclusive Truth, you must cross to the other side. And when you do, what you see is not the sum of countless truths, an innumerable quantity of truths added together and viewed one after another, making it impossible to grasp the whole at a glance; when you go above, its the whole you see first, AT A GLANCE, in its entirety, without division. So there is no longer any choice to be made; its a vision: THAT is to be done. The choice is no longer between this and that, it doesnt work that way any more. Things are no longer seen in succession, one after another; there is rather a simultaneous vision of a whole that exists as a unit. The choice is simply a vision.
As long as youre not in that state, you cant see the whole. The whole cant be seen successively, by adding one truth to another; this is precisely what the mind does, and why it is incapable of seeing the whole. It cant do it. The mind will always see things in succession, by addition, but thats not IT, something will always elude you the very sense of truth will elude you.
Only when you have a simultaneous, global perception of the whole as a unit can you see truth in its entirety.
Then, action is no longer a choice subject to error, correction, discussion, but the clear vision of what must be done. And this vision is infallible.
--
From another, almost id entical point of view, it fills the physical atmosphere with the Divine Presence. So time sp ent in japa is time consecrated to helping the material substance enter into more intimate rapport with the Divine.
And if one adds to this, as I do, a mantric program, that is, a sort of prayer or invocation, a program for both personal developm ent and helping the collective, then it becomes a truly active work. Then theres also what I call external work: contact with others, reading and answering letters, seeing and speaking to people, and finally all the activities having to do with the organization and running of the Ashram (in meditation this work becomes worldwide, but physically, materially, it is limited for the mom ent to the Ashram).
0 1962-02-06, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Automatically, everything that exists is a natural expression of divine Joy, even the things human consciousness finds most horrifyingthis is understandable. But at the same time there is this aspiration, so intense that its almost anguish, for a perfection of creation to come. And it does seem that this intense aspiration and anguish in the material world is a necessary preparation for this perfection to come. Yet at the same time, whatever exists is perfect at each mom ent, since it is entIRELY the Divine. There is nothing other than the Divine. So there is simultaneously this plenitude of Divine Joy in each second, in whatever exists, and the aspiration, the anguish and the difficulty lies in joining the two, there you have it.
Practically, you go from one to the other, or one is in front and the other behind, one active and the other passive. With the feeling of perfect joy comes an almost static state (certainly the joy of movem ent is also there, but all anticipation of the goal stays in the background). Then, when the aspiration of the Becoming is there, the joy of divine perfection at each mom ent withdraws into a static state.
--
A problem like that reaches a point of such acute tension that you feel you know nothing, understand nothing, you will never understand anything, its hopeless. When I reach that point, I always tilt in the same direction, its always: All right, I adore the Lord, as for the rest, it doesnt matter to me! I enter into a marvelous adoration and let Him do what He wants! Thats how it all ends up for me.
But this would only be suitable for those who have stopped thinking.
--
But whats impossible to express is the nonexistence of a being, an individual being. When I say I, theres no knowing what it means. Its not the totality either. Not the totality, not the entire universe, specially not the earth, the poor little earth, which I always see as a tiny thing adrift in the universe. So what is it?
(silence)
I can have that experience at any mom ent whatsoever: one second of conc entration, stepping back from action, and its Bliss. And when I dont step back, then its something like an eternal omnipotence geared to action and entirely upheld and englobed by That. This power geared to action is the first manifestation of That thats what manifests first when That begins to exist consciously. (Mother places her palms together and, without separating them, turns her hands from side to side, as if to show two faces of the same thing.) So its indissoluble: its not two things, not even two aspects, because it isnt an aspect at all (words are idiotic, imbecilic, meaningless). The experience is renewable at will: one single thing in its essence, innumerable in its expression, and appar ently increasing in power. I have experienced this at will, in every possible circumstance, including physically fainting (I told you the other day). Its called fainting, but I didnt lose consciousness for a minute! Not for one minute did I PHYSICALLY lose consciousness and behind it all, witnessing everything, was this experience.
(Pavitra enters the room to ask Mother an urg ent question)
I cant hear, I am somewhere else.
0 1962-02-24, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I began three days ago, but I keep getting entangled with the traditional formation around it: Oh, its dangerous, its dangerous, be careful. So this morning I thought Id better speak to you about it.
Are you doing it without instructions?
--
I dont know why, but I got entangled with that traditional formation which says its dangerous.
Someone put it on you, mon petit!
--
Yes, I thought I didnt see you! But when I w ent out on the balcony, something suddenly began making me do pranayama! I started doing it and it was funny I had great fun. It was like the Lord entering into me as air, and when it was held inside like that (I was doing it physically at the same time), all the air began to flow out into everybody and do its work in each onewith such a sensation of ease, of tranquil power, and so sure of itself! So comfortably peaceful.
The balcony darshans are interesting.
0 1962-02-27, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Meanwhile, there are all sorts of ways to receive indications. That exact, precise and (whats the word?) habitual vision certain people have may stem from various sources. It may be a vision through id entity with circumstances and things when you have learned to expand your consciousness. It may be an indication from some chatterbox of the invisible world, who has got it into his head to let you know whats going to happ enthis is often the case. Then everything depends on your harbingers morals: if he is having fun at your expense, he spins stories for youthis almost always happens to those who receive their information from entities. To bait you, they may repeatedly tell you how things are going to turn out (for they have a universal vision in some vital or m ental realm); then, when they are sure you trust them, they may start telling you fibs and, as they say in English, you make a fool of yourself. This happens frequ ently! You have to be in a higher consciousness than these fellows, these entities (or these minor gods, as some call them) and able to check from above the value of their statem ents.
With a universal m ental vision, you can see (and this is very interesting) how the m ental world operates to get realized on the physical plane. You see the various m ental formations, how they converge, conflict, combine and relate to one another, which ones get the upper hand, exert a stronger influence and achieve a more total realization. Now, if you really want a higher vision, you must get out of the m ental world and see the original wills as they descend to take expression. In this case, you may not have all the details, but the c entral FACT, the fact in its c entral truth, is indisputable, undeniable, absolutely correct.
--
He asked me about it and my explanation was that an entity had forewarned him. The image of the bellboy indicates an intellig ent, conscious intermediaryit doesnt seem to come from the mans subconsci ent.1 Or else he had seen it in the subtle physical and his subconsci ent knew but then why did it pres ent him with such an image? I dont know. Perhaps something in his subconsci ent knew, because the accid ent already existed in the subtle physical. Before it occurred here, the accid ent the law of the accid entexisted.
Of course, in every case there is invariably a time-lag, sometimes a few hours (thats the maximum), sometimes a few seconds. Quite frequ ently things announce their presence, but to come in contact with your consciousness, it may take them a couple of minutes or just seconds. I am constantly, constantly aware of whats going to happenutterly uninteresting things, as a matter of fact; knowing them in advance changes nothing. But they exist all around us, and with a wide enough consciousness we can know it all. For example, I know that so and so is going to bring me a parcel, that someone is about to come, and so forth. And its like this every day. Because my consciousness is spread far and wideit comes into contact with things.
--
It can happen in differ ent ways. Quite often I was informed by a small entity or some being or other. Sometimes the aura protected meall sorts of things. My life was rarely limited to the physical body. And this is useful, its good. Necessary alsoit enhances your capacities. Thon told me right from the start: You people deprive yourselves of the most useful kind of senses, EVEN FOR ORDINARY LIFE. If you develop your inner senses (he gave them fabulous names), you can. And its true, absolutely true, we can know infinitely more than we normally do, merely by using our own senses. And not only m entally but vitally and even physically as well.
But what is the method?
--
Mother elaborated: "What makes me think it was an entity is the image, normally, the subconsci ent would have simply forewarned him of the fact itself."
"Hearing behind a sound," Mother explained, "means to make contact with the subtle reality behind the material fact: behind the word or the physical sound, or behind music, for example. You conc entrate and then hear what is behind. It means contacting the vital reality behind appearances (there can also be a m ental reality, but usually what is immediately behind the physical noise is a vital reality)."
0 1962-03-06, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But it has become such a delicate play! A MINUTE thing, minute, can throw everything out of gearone simple ordinary movem ent. If through habit you slip back into the ordinary functioning (these are infinitesimal things, not easily seen, subtle, tenuous; one must be very, very, VERY alert), if this happens, the whole new thing stops. Then you have to wait. Wait until the ordinary functioning cons ents to stop, and that means meditating, entering into contemplationgoing over the whole path again. Then, when you have caught hold of That again and can stay there for a few seconds, sometimes a few minutes (its marvelous when it lasts a few minutes). And then it gets jammed again and everything has to be done over.
I am not saying this to discourage you, but to tell you that one must really and truly be pati ent. The only possible way to do it is in a sort of passivity: not to WANT the resultWANTING the result brings in an ego movem ent which spoils it all.
0 1962-03-11, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
To begin with, I said that the vital is peopled by small entities, small formations, the remnants of human beings who have died. But there is a whole vital world which has nothing to do with that one, a world peopled by beings of the vital proper, beings of great power and even great beauty. Most people who dabble in occultism without having a deep enough spiritual life are immediately deluded by themsome even take them as the supreme God and worship them. Thats generally how religions are created. They are a great success. They are the supreme God of many a religion they are beings of the vital world, and can assume an appearance of overwhelming beauty. They are the biggest impostors in the world, and dangerous at that; it takes the spiritual instinct, the instinct of true spiritual purity, not to be deceived by them. Many religions and sects are founded on revelations and miracles, and every bit of it comes from vital beings.
Its one of the greatest problems in human life; I dont mean spiritual life, but the life of people who deal with the beyond.
--
Actually, thats the main reason I dont like to talk about occultism. It puts people in touch with an extremely dangerous world which cant be safely entered unless one is (I cant even say a saint, because its not true; some saints enter the vital world and get right into it!) unless one is transformed, unless one has the true spiritual consciousness. On this condition alone are you perfectly safe. So where are the people with the spiritual consciousness? There are really very few of them, very few. And above all, in those who have this occult curiosity there are also all sorts of vital movem ents, which make it dangerous for them to enter that world. Unless, of course, they go shielded by the gurus presence; with that, you can go anywhere, its the same as going there with him. And if you do go with him, all is well; he has the knowledge and he protects you. But going there all on your own is you need the Divine Protection itself! Or the protection of the guru who repres ents the Divine. With the gurus protection you are safe.
But isnt it possible to have a fruitful collaboration with those beings? Should they be avoided altogether, or what?
--
Some of them get converted. Their conversion means a great entity joining the divine Work but that seldom happens.
Yes, but what about the minor gods? You often speak of a little Kali or a little Durga; are these beings benefic ent?
--
The other day, didnt I tell you the story of those entities working for me? (It wasnt you? Id had a vision.) In fact, I very often see entities like Nature spirits when I enter the subtle physical and work there (usually for people here and the Ashram, and for the world at large), I very, very often have them with me, or else I meet them in the course of my work. They are forces, generally feminine in appearance, that do some work and have a great deal of power. They are usually the ones that respond to Tantric invocations (I dont mean the Tantrics who call on Kali or Durga, thats something else altogether, those belong to a totally differ ent world). Most of the time these Nature forces are very willing to helpat any rate, they are wonderfully obliging with me! But they are limited beings, with their own ideas and laws, their own volition, and when vexed they can do unpleasant things. Yet they are not hostile beings, nor are they vital beings: they are personified forces of physical Nature, in the subtle physical.
A world of things could be said.
0 1962-03-13, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Instead of putting on grand airs and saying its difficult, I make jokes. But its something else entirely. I dont like drama I just dont like it. The greatest, loftiest, noblest, most sublime things can be said with simplicity. Theres no need to be dramatic, to see things tragically. I dont want to be a victim or a hero or or a martyr or anything of the kind!
How well I understand!
0 1962-05-15, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I didnt receive a promisethis Voice made me remember a promise I had made. I was saying to myself, How to connect this true Consciousness to the other oneits impossible! And just then I seemed to hear not Sri Aurobindo exactly, because then you immediately think of a particular body, but that sort of Voice saying to me, Your promise. You said you would do the Work. So thats when I said, Yes, I shall do the Work. And from that mom ent on the process of materialization began, the entire transition from the true Consciousness to the ordinary consciousness.
I didnt receive a promise, but a reminder of the promise I had made.
--
For instance, I am walking a little now, with someones assistance, to get the body used to it again. And when I started walking, I became aware of a rather peculiar state I might describe it as: what gives me the illusion of a body (Mother laughs). I entrust it to the person I walk with. In other words, its not my responsibility: the other person has to make sure it doesnt fall, doesnt bump into anythingyou see what I mean. And the consciousness is a limitless consciousness, like a material equival ent or expression of these gustsits like waves, but waves with no. Not separate waves, but a MOVEM ent of waves; a movem ent of what might be called material, corporeal waves, as vast as the earth, but not not round, not flat. Something giving a great sense of infinity but moving in waves. And this wave movem ent is the movem ent of life. And the consciousness (the body-consciousness, I suppose) floats along in this, with a sensation of eternal peace. But its not an expanse thats not the word for it. It is a limitless movem ent, with a very harmonious and very tranquil rhythm, very vast, very calm. And this movem ent is life itself.
I walk around the room, and that is what is walking.
0 1962-05-18, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There was a relation, I kept a link with it, but it took some days to get established (I dont know how many, because for a long time I couldnt keep track of anything). After some days (say ten days, tw enty days, I dont know), the will began to function, the body was again under the control of the will. But that didnt happen right away for some days, the will that deals with the body was annulled (I was entirely conscious and alive, but not in my body). The body was merely something moved around by the people looking after me. Not that it was separate, but I couldnt even say, its a body it wasnt anything any more! Something. Having undergone so much preparation, the universalization of the body-consciousness and all that, the experience didnt even seem strange to me (in fact, it was certainly the result of all that preparation). The body was something like a mass of substance being driven by the will of the three people looking after it. Not that I was unaware of it but. I wasnt much concerned with it, to tell the truth; but as far as my att ention was turned to it, it was a corporeal mass being moved around by a few wills. The supreme Will was in full agreem ent; the body had been entrusted, in a way (I dont know how to express this) yes, it was like something entrusted, and I was simply looking on I watched it all for I dont know how many days, with hardly any interest.
The one really concrete link was pain. Thats how the contact was kept.
--
Oh, no! Nothing withdrewit had already withdrawn a long time ago. The consciousness wasnt at all c entered in the body. When I said I, for instance, it NEVER occurred to me that I was this (Mother points to her body). I, the I who spoke, was always a will entIRELY independ ent of the body, entirely independ ent.
But there has been a strange phenomenon [since April 3]. Before, I used to say, I am outside my body. It was always I am outside my body. But this time, the body seemed to have been consigned or entrustedmore like entrusted.
It has gradually come back, in the sense that actively. No, I cant even say thatits not true. What has come back is the increasingly precise memory of how I had organized the life of this body, the whole formation I had made, down to the smallest details for the things I was using, how I was making use of them, how I had organized all the objects around the body, all that. What has come back is the memoryis it memory? The awareness of all that has returned, as if I were putting the two back into contact. And so, instead of the body being left totally in the hands of those around me, the formation I had made is coming back, with certain changes, certain improvem ents and simplifications (but mind you, I had neither the int ention nor the will to change anythingthose things are simply coming back into the consciousness like that, with certain changes made). In short, its a kind of conscious formation recrystallizing around this body.
And I have the perception a sensation, really, the sensation of something not at all me, but entrusted to me. More and more now, there is the feeling of something being entrusted to me in the universal organization for a definite purpose. Thats really the sensation I have now (the mind is very calm, so its difficult to express I dont think all these things, they are more like perceptions). And its not the usual kind of sensation: the ONLY (I insist on this), the ONLY sensation that remains in the old way is physical pain. And really, those points of pain they seem like the SYMBOLIC POINTS of what remains of the old consciousness.
Pain is the one thing I sense the way I used to. Food, for instance, taste, smell, vision, hearingall thats completely changed. They belong to another rhythm. And this condition has come progressively, like a crystallization of something behind the senses that doesnt come from herein taste, smell, vision, hearing, touch. Except this one point. Even the sense of touch is differ ent now but PAIN.
0 1962-05-24, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
That. Ultimately, its always the same thing. Its always the same: realize your own being, enter into conscious contact with the supreme Truth of your own being, in WHATEVER form, by WHATEVER path (thats totally irrelevant); its the only way. We each carry a truth within ourselves, and we must unite with that truth; we must live that truth. And the path we have to follow to realize and unite with this truth is the very path that will lead us as near as we can possibly come to Knowledge. I mean the two are absolutely one: the personal realization and Knowledge.
Who knows? Perhaps the very multiplicity of approaches will yield the Secret the Secret that will open the door.
--
Of course, its been a long time since there has been any question of three dimensionsall that belongs ABSOLUTELY to the world of illusion and falsehood. But now the whole use of the sense of the fourth dimensionalong with all it entailsseems superficial to me! And so much so that I cant recapture it. The other world, the three-dimensional world, is completely unreal; but now that one (what can I say?) seems conv entional to me. Like a conv entional transcription opening a particular type of approach to you.
And as for expressing what the other, the true position is like. It is so far beyond any intellectual state that I cant manage to put it into words.
0 1962-05-27, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But there are a certain number of beingsnot manywho have come back on earth ONLY to take part in a particular work, in a particular way. And outer things, personal and individual things, are virtually sacrificed to that. Certain faculties, for instance, whose source is the higher entity, faculties that in an ordinary life would result in a measure of power or fame or success or realization, are placed under conditions where their outer effect is subordinated to the needs of a particular work.
Let me put it to you more clearly: your physical body, for example, should have been either stronger or more supple or endowed with certain very strong vital compensations, so that you wouldnt suffer from your working conditions. Of course, for someone following a yogic asc ent, whose soul is in the process of formation, the external conditions of life are normally what is best for inner developm ent, whatever that may beeven if, on the surface, those conditions ar ent good. So the only advice you can give such a person is, Well, either renounce the spiritual life or else putup with it. But thats not your case. There is a Mission, a work, and a kind of gap between a certain physical formation and that Mission. So if you ask me plainly what I see, I can tell you plainly, instead of saying as I would to certain sadhaks or anyone sincerely wanting to do yoga, Take it or leave it; you must learn to transform yourself inwardly to the point where you can master the body and its needs. I cant tell you that, because thats not how it is for you.
--
Externally, with this book Im supposed to write, I would say I have no desire to do so. Nonetheless, Ive come to the point where I no longer pay att ention to my desires or non-desires; but anyway, I cant say Im enthusiastic about it.
No, its not interesting for you. And that I can understand!
0 1962-05-29, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Almost no philosophy, nothing intellectualalmost a story. His work pres ented in an entirely practical and matter-of-fact way, like the talks I used to give to the children here. When I said to the children, This, you know, is why you are here, I told them in a way they could understand, didnt I? Well the book should be like that. If I were to write (I will never write a book on Sri Aurobindo! Never, never, never I know it), but were I ever to write a book on Sri Aurobindo, thats the book I would write, something like a fairy tale. Just imagine. You see life, you see how it is, you are used to this sort of existence; and its dreary and its sad (some people find it entertainingbecause it doesnt take much to entertain them!). Well, behind it all there is a fairy tale. Something in the making, something thats going to be beautiful, beautiful, inexpressibly beautiful. And we shall take part in it. You have no idea, you think you will forget everything when you die, leave it all behind you but its not true! And all who feel the call to a beautiful, luminous, joyous, progressive life, well they will all take part in it, in one way or another. You dont know now, but you will after a while. There you are.
A fairy tale.
0 1962-05-31, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In ordinary language, the vibration of the mantra is what helps the body to enter a certain state but it is not particularly THIS mantra: it is the particular relationship established between a mantra (it has to be a true one, a mantra endowed with power) and the body. It surges up spontaneously: as soon as the body starts walking, it walks to the rhythm of those Words. And the rhythm of the Words quite naturally brings about a certain vibration, which in turn brings about the state.
But to say its these particular Words exclusively would be ridiculous. What counts is the sincerity of the aspiration, the exactness of the expression and the power; that is, the power that comes from the mantra being accepted. This is something very interesting: the mantra has been ACCEPTED by the supreme Power as an effective tool, and so it automatically contains a certain force and power.5 But it is a purely personal phenomenon (the expression is the same, but the vibrations are personal). A mantra leading one person straight to divine realization will leave another person cold and flat.
--
Mother is entering into a sort of trance and, almost to the end of this conversation, will be speaking slowly, as if from far away.
Interestingly enough, physicists also say that the wave movem ent does not displace matter. For example, the conc entric ripples caused on the surface of a pond by the fall of a pebble do not carry the water molecules along with them: a cork floating on the water rises and falls with the undulatory rhythm without traveling on the pond.
0 1962-06-02, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Material knowledge, I think I mean the higher use of the physical mind, which keeps you from entering the true room.2 Because I simply kept repeating, I have to say: I WANT TO GO THERE (in other words, it was a crystal clear, imperative will coming from the highest level) I have to say: I WANT TO GOnot that, not your methods! (Mother laughs.)
***
--
Mother reemphasized: "Those who use the mind to seek knowledge cannot enter the true room that is quite clear."
Several people combined in this single individual being.
0 1962-06-06, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It must give a sort of woolly effect to someone not used to it. You know, when you want to draw your consciousness withinwhat people call conc entrating for meditation, for instance, or japa, well, to the sharp-edged surface consciousness the movem ent of interiorization is like entering something not exactly smoky, because it isnt dark, but woolly: the feeling of something with no angles, no precise demarcations. Dont you have that impression when you conc entrate?
I dont see anything when I conc entrate.
--
It doesnt take me any time, the time factor doesnt enter into it at allits a sort of inner resolution: this way or that way (Mother turns the palms of her hands in and out). People say, Oh, youve been waiting! No, I never wait; its either action or a sort of blissful peace (same in and out gesture). And I am talking about the body, not the spirit the spirit is elsewhere. Elsewhere. The BODY feels like that.
And what nights I have! Nights like the one I told you about the other day, with visions and actions; and then I have nights. All night last night, I didnt lose consciousness, I dont feel I slept for a minute; and it was like being in a sort of temporal Infinity (both hands open above the head). From time to time, I look at the clock (all at once I feel something pulling me and I look at the clock): two or two and a half hours have passedlike a second. Did I sleep, you ask? Did the consciousness fall asleep? No, not for a second. But the sense of time completely disappears into into an inner immobility. But an immobility in motion!
--
I remember reading something by Sri Aurobindo, I think, about certain philosophical or spiritual theories which held that there was only one Soul, or one Purusha (I dont remember what he called it); this Soul had the entire experience of the distortion of the universe, and this same Soul was also experiencing the Return. And it was pointed out with indisputable logic that if there really is but ONE Soul, then from the mom ent mastery is attainedregardless of whether it is by an individual or a world, a god or an ant the mom ent the power to change the distortion into the Truth exists, its all over and done with! The change automatically comes into force.
But then it was noted that some people did accomplish this Returnsince they lived it and described it but all the same, everything else continues to exist, to coexist. Therefore.
--
Two or three times, like a flash, I have seen something manifest, change place. But it was over in less time than it takes to tell, so it might be entirely subjective. To make sure, I would have to check it with someone else, wouldnt I?
We will see. Patience.
0 1962-06-12, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
You see, the trouble is hes a man whose principles and education prev ent him from believing in progress and transformation. He believes that if you fulfill the conditions you get the siddhi,3 and thats the end of it the goal is reached. He had already attained his goal before meeting us, and then he could have kept his distance, but he became intimately connected with something full of all kinds of difficulties (which we neither ignore nor call for), but its ess entially a Power for progressan awesome force for progress. Well, when I saw that, I wondered, How can he possibly bear it? I thought he would keep his distance and not enter the atmosphere, but he did try to enterhe linked up with certain people, and particularly when he started meditating with me (he asked for it, not me), suddenly something responded. And that triggered the conflict in him. One part of his being has gone along with the Movem ent, while the other is left strandeddoesnt budge. That created a gap.
Of course, one has to be in a terribly superficial consciousness to react the way he did. He had a rather deep contact with you, and there were mom ents when he understood very well who you arehe knows, he told me so. Consequ ently, had he truly been in a yogic state, then even if you had done something tactless or wrong, he would have just smiled! He would have said, Oh, hes just impetuous, but I dont mind.
--
No, the Grace has made him an object of special att ention, thrusting him into a world which, externally, was not his own. In a matter of a few years he has made a journey of several lifetimes, so it has been a little bit difficult. Truly, in a few years he has inwardly traveled many lifetimes. And he has had to face the necessity of an enormous progress, all the more difficult because he hadnt m entally accepted or foreseen it. So he doesnt understand any more, poor man! If I could only take him in my arms like a baby and say to him, My poor little dear, my dear little child and make him feel good, then all would be well. But its not possible theres a whole spiritual construction. So I do it from a distance, wordlessly, in silence. But what gets through all that crust? I dont know! Over and over, I keep saying one thing: To divine Love, all human confusions and misunderstandings are unknown. There. Well, we will see. Wherever divine Love is pres ent, human confusions and misunderstandings cannot exist, cannot enter.
Thats the only solution.
--
That whole way of seeing, feeling and reacting belongs really to another world. Really to another world to such a degree that if I had no regard for peoples peace of mind I would say, I dont know whether I am dead or alive. Because there is a life, a type of life vibration that is completely independ ent of. No, Ill put it another way: the way people ordinarily feel life, feel that they are alive, is intimately linked with a certain sensation they have of their bodies and of themselves. If you totally eliminate that sensation, the type of relation that allows people to say I am alive well, eliminate that, but then how can you say, I am alive, or I am not alive? The distinction NO LONGER EXISTS. Well, for me, it has been completely eliminated. That night April 12-13, it was definitively swept out of me. It has never come back. Its something that seems impossible now. So what they mean by I am alive is I cant say I am alive the way they doits something else entirely.
Better not keep thisin the end theyll be worrying about my sanity! (Mother laughs.)
0 1962-06-27, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
During the whole time Sri Aurobindo was here, the four entities he speaks of, the four Aspects of the Mother,5 were always pres ent. And I was constantly obliged to tell one or the other of them, Now keep calm, now, now, calm downthey were always inclined to intervene!
Did I ever tell you? Last time I w ent down for the pujas (was it last year or the year before? I remember nothing any more, you know: it all gets swept away, brrt!). Yes, it was the year before last, in 60, after that anniversary.6 (Durga used to come every year, two or three days before the Durga puja.) I was walking as usual and she came; that was when she made her surrender to the Supreme. Those divinities dont have the sense of surrender. Divinities such as Durga and the Greek gods (although the Greek gods are a bit dated now; but the gods of India are still very much alive!). Well, they are embodim entswhat you might almost call localizationsof something eternal, but they lack the sense of surrender to the Supreme. And while I was walking, Durga was therereally, it was beautiful! Durga, with that awesome power of hers, forever bringing the adverse forces to heel and she surrendered to the Supreme, to the point of no longer even recognizing the adverse forces: ALL is the Supreme. It was like a widening of her consciousness.
Some interesting things have been happening in that world [since the supram ental desc ent]. How can I explain? Those beings have an independence, an absolute freedom of movem ent (although at the same time, they are all a single Being), but they had the true sense of perfect Unity only with the supreme Consciousness. And now with this pres ent interv ention [Mothers], with this incarnation and the establishm ent of the Consciousness here, like this (Mother makes a fist in a gesture of immutable solidity), in such an absolute way (I mean there are no fluctuations) HERE, on earth, in the terrestrial atmosphere, this incarnation has a radiating action throughout all those worlds, all those universes, all those entities. And it results in small ev ents,7 incid ents scaled to the size of the earthwhich in themselves are quite interesting.
(long silence)
--
Logically, of course, I should stay invisible until the day I appear in my new form. But it doesnt seem to be going quickly. For the mom ent, its not changing except for a kind of sensation of force entering the bodya sensation as if the new thing were PUSHING.8 Something very concrete.
Well see! We have to be pati ent.
0 1962-06-30, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
One of them was in Murat, on the day of his great victory.6 It was a vital force that took possession of him and remained just for that victory; and it came into me, so I saw it all! I saw its entry into Murats body and the whole battle scene I lived through it all. And once the battle was over, it left him. It was very interesting.
I wanted to clarify something. I dont know if Mona Lisa and Marguerite de Valois were your incarnations, but wer ent they contemporaries!?
0 1962-07-04, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
People say, He has lost consciousness. They made this assumption in N.S.s case because there were no vital signs and the consciousness in the body was reduced to a minimum; there was still some left (because it did react!), but it was a bare minimum, without much reacting powerhe wasnt an accomplished yogi, after all, only an appr entice yogi. It would have been entirely differ ent, for instance, and far more serious, for someone who had practiced hatha yoga. But I mean to say that N.S. was here beside me, fully conscious, and could have moved on to another mode of manifestation without having to go through the throes of death thats not at all indispensable! Such is my experience, and I find it very important, tremendously important.
Besides, this is the first time it has happened. All those (like I.B., for example) who were hurled viol ently out of their bodies through an accid ent have, after a time, become conscious again the consciousness gathers itself back together. But N.S.s consciousness never scattered, he never lost consciousness.
--
But to learn, to profit from such experiences, one must already be on the other side. Up to that point [April 13], I had learned pl enty of things, but I was learning them from this side of the fence. Now I am on the other side of the fence. Not entirely, but in large part, at least.
Voil.
--
As soon as you stop hurrying, you enter a truer vibration.
See you Saturday, then. Keep it up. Its very good, much better than you think!
--
Recall the conversation of June 12: "I don't know whether I am dead or alive.... A type of life vibration which is completely independ ent of.... I can't say 'I am alive,' it's something else entirely."
"I mean a SUBTLE form," Mother clarified, "it's the body's subtle form."
0 1962-07-18, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
"The regret of the person who bumped me," Mother specified. "This person's state of consciousness entered the body along with the blow. And this kind of regret for having given a blow was an ego movem ent. All these vibrations accompanied the blow and that's what the body had to annul in order to annul the result."
***
0 1962-07-21, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I know very well that Bengal is not really ready. The spiritual flood which has come is for the most part a new form of the old. It is not the real transformation. However this too was needed. Bengal has been awakening in itself the old yogas and exhausting their samskaras [old habitual tendencies], extracting their essence and with it fertilizing the soil. At first it was the time of VedantaAdwaita, Sannyasa, Shankaras Maya and the rest. It is now the turn of Vaishnava DharmaLila, love, the intoxication of emotional experience. All this is very old, unfitted for the new age and will not endure for such excitem ent has no capacity to last. But the merit of the Vaishnava Bhava [emotional enthusiasm] is that it keeps a connexion between God and the world and gives a meaning to life; but since it is a partial bhava the whole connexion, the full meaning is not there. The tendency to create sects which you have noticed was inevitable. The nature of the mind is to take a part and call it the whole and exclude all other parts. The Siddha [illuminated being] who brings the bhava, although he leans on its partial aspect, yet keeps some knowledge of the integral whole, even though he may not be able to give it form. But his disciples do not get that knowledge precisely because it is not in a form. They are tying up their little bundles, let them. The bundles will open of themselves when God manifests himself fully. These things are the signs of incompleteness and immaturity. I am not disturbed by them. Let the force of spirituality play in the country in whatever way and in as many sects as may be. Afterwards we shall see. This is the infancy or the embryonic condition of the new age. It is a first hint, not even the beginning.
The peculiarity of this yoga is that until there is siddhi above the foundation does not become perfect. Those who have been following my course had kept many of the old samskaras; some of them have dropped away, but others still remain. There was the samskara of Sannyasa, even the wish to create an Aravinda Math [Sri Aurobindo monastery]. Now the intellect has recognized that Sannyasa is not what is wanted, but the stamp of the old idea has not yet been effaced from the prana [breath, life energy]. And so there was next this talk of remaining in the midst of the world, as a man of worldly activities and yet a man of renunciation. The necessity of renouncing desire has been understood, but the harmony of renunciation of desire with enjoym ent of Ananda has not been rightly seized by the mind. And they took up my Yoga because it was very natural to the Bengali temperam ent, not so much from the side of Knowledge as from the side of Bhakti and Karma [Works]. A little knowledge has come in, but the greater part has escaped; the mist of s entim entalism has not been dissipated, the groove of the sattwic bhava [religious fervor] has not been broken. There is still the ego. I am not in haste, I allow each to develop according to his nature. I do not want to fashion all in the same mould. That which is fundam ental will indeed be one in all, but it will express itself in many forms. Everybody grows, forms from within. I do not want to build from outside. The basis is there, the rest will come.
--
You say that what is needed is maddening enthusiasm, to fill the country with emotional excitem ent. In the time of the Swadeshi [fight for independence, boycott of English goods] we did all that in the field of politics, but what we did is all now in the dust. Will there be a more favorable result in the spiritual field? I do not say there has been no result. There has been. Any movem ent will produce some result, but for the most part in terms of an increase of possibility. This is not the right method, however, to steadily actualize the thing. Therefore I no longer wish to make emotional excitem ent or any intoxication of the mind the base. I wish to make a large and strong equanimity the foundation of the yoga. I want established on that equality a full, firm and undisturbed Shakti in the system and in all its movem ents. I want the wide display of the light of Knowledge in the ocean of Shakti. And I want in that luminous vastness the tranquil ecstasy of infinite Love, Delight and Oneness. I do not want hundreds of thousands of disciples. It will be enough if I can get a hundred complete men, purified of petty egoism, who will be the instrum ents of God. I have no faith in the customary trade of the guru. I do not wish to be a guru. If anybody wakes and manifests from within his slumbering godhead and gets the divine lifebe it at my touch or at anothersthis is what I want. It is such men that will raise the country.
You must not think from all this lecture that I despair of the future of Bengal. I too hope, as they say, that this time a great light will manifest itself in Bengal. Still I have tried to show the other side of the shield, where the fault is, the error, the deficiency. If these remain, the light will not be a great light and it will not be perman ent.
0 1962-07-25, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Then conscious yoga made a sudden entry into the picture when I met Thon; I must have been about tw enty-one. Lifes ori entation changed, a whole series of experiences took place, with the developm ent of the vital giving interesting occult results.
Then, a period of intensive m ental developm ent, m ental developm ent of the most complete type: a study of all the philosophies, all the conceptual juggling, in minute detaildelving into systems, getting a grasp on them. Ten years of intensive m ental studies leading me to Sri Aurobindo.
--
Some receive it from above; for others, it rises from below (gesture to the base of the spine). As I once told you, the old system always proceeds from below upwards, while Sri Aurobindo pulls from above downwards. This becomes very clear in meditation (well, in yoga, in yogic experience): for those who follow the old system, its invariably the kundalini at the base [of the spine] rising from c enter to c enter, c enter to c enter, until the lotus (in an ironic tone) bursts open here gesture at the crown of the head). With Sri Aurobindo, it comes like this (gesture of descending Force) and then settles here (above the head); it enters, and from there it comes down, down, down, everywhere, to the very bottom, and even below the feet the subconsci entand lower still, the inconsci ent.
Its the Shakti. He said, you know (I am still translating it), that the shakti drawn up from below (this is what happens in the individual process) is already what could be called a veiled shakti (it has power, but it is veiled). While the Shakti drawn down from above is a PURE Shakti; and if it can be brought down carefully and slowly enough so that it isnt (how shall I put it?) polluted or, in any case, obscured as it enters matter, then the result is immediately much better. As he has explained, if you start out with this feeling of a great power in yourself (because its always a great power no matter where it awakens), theres inevitably a danger of the ego meddling in. But if it comes pure and you are very careful to keep it pure, not to rush the movem ent but let it purify as it descends, then half the work is done.
Its a problem. When you contact the Supraconsci ent and the Shakti emerges at the crown of the head, its something rising from below, isnt it? Is it then another movem ent, an ascending movem ent?
--
And it was he who did it, entirely. I didnt even ask him, there was no aspiration, nothing (there were my previous efforts; I knew it had to come, thats all). But on that day I hadnt m entioned it to him, I wasnt thinking about it, I wasnt doing anythingjust sitting there. And outwardly he seemed to be fully engrossed in his conversation about this and that and what was going to happen in the world.
Thats the real way.
0 1962-08-04, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(Mother listens to a passage from Satprems manuscript concerning the vital and the mechanism by which vibrations enter ones being.)
What you say about all those things entering through the c enters is perfectly correct.
Interestingly enough, these last few days I have been making a sort of detailed study of the various kinds of vibrations, how they approach you and enter the various c enters. I dont know how to explain itcertain differences between vibrations resemble differences in tastes. Theres a whole gamut, you see, all vibrations, nothing but vibrations, and the differences between them resemble differences in taste or color or intensity, perhaps differences in force as welless entially, of course, they are differences in quality.
Ive been observing all this in a neuro-physical realm, subtle-physical, that is but its still physical and in a complete m ental silence where all judgm ents (you know, judgm ents) have disappeared, along with a certain way of observing things. Thats why I cant talk about it.
These vibrations have various qualities; if they were expressed through a m ental observation, it would be done through such things as taste, color, and so forth, everything Ive just m entioned1but thats not how theyre expressed. They come almost exclusively as sensations, but those sensations some, I mean some vibrations, have rounded edges. Some come horizontally (I was in fact studying everything that comes horizontally), others result from the state of consciousness (vertical gesture from top to bottom). While at the same time, others are. Yes, its like looking through a high-powered microscope: some are rounded, others pointed; some are darker, some brighter. Some are very upsetting to the body, and some even feel dangerous. On the other hand, certain ones make the body receptive to the vibration, which we might call the Lords Vibration, the supreme Vibration. You see, all this is the outcome of a discipline, a tapasya, for preparing the body to receive the Lords Vibrations (the first step is receiving, being able to receive them; afterwards you have to hold on to and then manifest them). Those vibrations are unmistakable, they are something else entirely. But other vibrations are helpful, beneficial, while still others are disruptive, contradictory.
And each one is beginning to reveal its own particular nature. There are those stemming from peoples thoughts (I sense them in my body, not in the mind: the material consequence of peoples psychological state, and even their state of health). Some things are general and last a bit longer; others are mom entary, lasting only a few seconds. The first step is to study the differ ent vibrational qualitiesyou could practically draw diagrams: if we had a machine sensitive enough to record these things, it would produce all kinds of zigs and zags.2 Certain vibrations immediately stop or change or are dissolved or repelled. Others are adopted, as it were, and transformed. The majority are simply pushed back and worked on from a distancequite a distance! I keep them at a fair distance (Mother laughs). Very few are let in. But some are let in for the sake of the experience, to see how much they upset the body. Theres also the effect of peoples perman ent auras: I know a certain person is arriving by his auras effect on the body; because (laughing) each vibration has its particular effect on the bodyperfectly prosaic things, maybe, but by studying them you realize that each thing has its own law.
0 1962-08-08, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I never thought this would have any consequences, but it did!1 Something probably needed to be exhausted. So physically speaking, yesterday was a pretty bad dayoh, only quite externally! In fact, the body was luminously conscious, profoundly happy and joyous, to the point where all suffering becomes negligibleyou dont notice it. And so it was a real opportunity for the whole entourage to make progress. That helps.
Superficially, it [the bodys characteristic of attracting ordeals] could be called a sort of karma, but thats not what it is. Its actually like one of the pivotsnot a c entral one, but one of the pivots of the bodys invisible action, of its consciousness. And it is expressed by attracting certain circumstances. A whole range of things having to do with the physical body has thus become very clear and precise to meand thats what the body was made for: to go full speed ahead.
--
Its not that I receive bad vibrations, but that the physical substance is not entirely (how can I explain?) in the proper movem ent or rhythm. For instance, between the vision of that old formation I spoke of and this (I cant call it a toothache, but anyway, something w ent wrong) there was no visible connection to speak of. The toothache wasnt caused by a particular vibration, its rather as if one thing or another provided the opportunity for absorbing a certain quantity or type of vibration (its more a quantity than a typeprobably both), a vibratory MODE, in order to put it in contact with THE vibratory mode the divine one.
But I understand your question. You want to know if this has an effect on all id entical vibratory modes in the world. In principle, yes. But the effects may not be immediately visible; in the first place, our field of observation is nothingmaterially, what do we know? Only our immediate surroundings thats nothing. In 1920, for example, I had an experience of that type, which resulted in a symbolic but terrestrial action. It was a vision (I dont remember enough details to make it interesting) where each nation was repres ented by a symbolic entity, and there was a certain type of horrorof terror, rather. A certain will of terror was trying to manifest in that gathering of all nations. And I was witness to the whole thing. I remember it being a very conscious and rather long and detailed vision with a more intense reality than physical things have (it was in the subtle physical). And after it was over and I had done what needed to be done (I am not saying what because I dont remember all the details, and without accuracy it loses its value), when I came out of it I could say with TOTAL conviction: Terror has been overcome in the world. Of course, its not literally true, pl enty of people still feel terror, but a certain type of terror was as if UNDERMINED at the foundations. What had already manifested kept on and is gradually being exhausted, but the terror that was trying to increase and dominate the life of nations was stopped cold.
I have had other similar experienceson Durgas day, for instance, when Sri Aurobindo was still here (you know, thats the day when Durga masters an asura; she doesnt kill him, she masters him). Well, each year one particular type of thing was undermined (and my experiences were never m ental: the experience would suddenly come, and AFTERWARDS I would realize it was Durgas day), and each time I used to tell Sri Aurobindo, Looktoday this (or that) thing has been cut off at the roots. Thats how it works with the adverse forcesyes, like something being uprooted from the world. Whatever has already spread out keeps going and follows its karma, but the SOURCE is dried up. Thats also what happened (it was in 1904, I believe) when the Asura of Consciousness and Darkness made his surrender and was converted; he told me, I have millions and millions of emanations, and these will keep on living, but their source has now run dry.4 How much time will it take to exhaust it all? We cant say, but the source has dried up and that is something extremely important. In 1920, that terror was trying to spread all over the world and to become really catastrophic; and then in my inner vision I could see that a whole movem ent had dried up at its source. This means that little by little, little by little, little by little the karma is being exhausted.
0 1962-08-14, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I learned about this two days ago. It interested me: Something never done before, something entirely new.3
There were many other things, but it seems he speaks a particular Hindi which is very hard to understand. But this was quite clear, and he said it several times.
--
It really amused me. If you asked if you asked people here, not too many would have such a clear idea: They have come to do something entirely new and very difficult.
Its lovely.
--
A few days later, Mother remarked with a kind of admiration: "It's almost a miracle for such people to admit that someone is doing something entirely new! That's the great problem with those who have attained some realization, they shut the door: 'Now we have realized what the Forefa thers said, and that's enough.' So to find a man who knows nothing outwardly and who FELT that we wanted to do something never done before ... I found that extremely interesting. It means he has an opening, an opening above, higher than the ordinary spiritual atmosphere."
***
0 1962-08-18, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(Concerning Satprem's new book on Sri Aurobindo, Mother foresees that again many cuts will be necessary, and emphasizes that the main point is to prev ent the publisher from entrusting the book's editing to some ignoramus. And she adds:)
But its quite clear that these people cant grasp it; theyre a closed door! Not even a door of bronze, but of bricks and cem entimpenetrable.
0 1962-08-31, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But the vibration was there, you see, high above and all around the earth, very powerful (it was all around the earth) and very strong, it seemed to be coming from other parts of the universe and trying to enter the earths atmosphere to help it participate in those new combinations. And it all seemed like childishness to me the whole universe seemed to be living in childishness. There was something so tranquil hereso tranquil, so calm and unhurried, not interested in showing anything off, but capable of living in an eternity of quiet effort and progress. It was here, immobile, watching all these things. Finally (the spectacle lasted all evening) when I lay down in bed for the night, I said to the Lord, I dont need diversions, I dont need to see encouraging things I only want to work calmly, quietly, IN You. You, You are the worker; You are here and You alone exist. You are the realizer. Then all grew sil ent, still, motionlessand the excitem ent waned.
So you see, theres excitem ent in the universe too, if youre not careful! But my impression is that it simply complicates thingsit clouds the issue, you know, it complicates things. Then you have to wait for the bubbles to subside before you can calmly set off again on your way towards the goal.
0 1962-09-05, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I was lying on my chaise longue in conc entration when all at once I found myself in my friend Zs house. He and several others were playing music. I could see everything very clearly, even more clearly than in the physical, and I moved around very quickly, unimpeded. I stayed there watching for a while, and even tried to attract their att ention, but they were unaware of me. Then suddenly something pulled me, a sort of instinct: I must go back. I felt pain in my throat. I remember that to get out of their room, which was all closed except for one small opening high up, my form seemed to vaporize (because I still had a form, though unlike our material onemore luminous, less opaque), and I w ent out like smoke through the open window. Then I found myself back in my room, next to my body, and I saw that my head was twisted and rigid against the cushion, and I was having trouble breathing. I wanted to get into my body: impossible. So I became afraid. I entered through the legs, and when I reached the knees I seemed to bounce back out; two, three times like that: the consciousness rose and then bounced back out like a spring. If I could only tip over this stool, I thought (there was a small stool under my feet), the noise would wake me up! But nothing doing. And I was breathing more and more heavily. I was terribly afraid. Suddenly I remembered Mother and cried out, Mother! Mother! and found myself back in my body, awake, with a stiff neck.
(Mother laughs and laughs.)
0 1962-09-08, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And this experience comes with examples just as concrete and as utterly banal as can be. Theres no room for imagination or enthusiasm they are details of the utmost banality. For example (its only ONE example), this sudden shift of consciousness takes place (something imperceptible, you cant perceive it, for if you had time to perceive it, I suppose it wouldnt happen; it isnt objectified), and you feel youre going to faint, all the blood rushes from the head to the feet and: whoops! But if the consciousness is caught IN TIME, it doesnt happen; and if its not caught in time, it does.
This would tend to show. I dont know if we can generalize or if this is just one special case being worked out (I cant say), but theres a very distinct impression that what ordinary human consciousness perceives as death might simply be that the consciousness hasnt been brought back to its true position fast enough.
--
There was an extremely viol ent attack (it was yesterday, I believe; no, the day before) and this time, a formidable combative power came to me. The attack consisted of this: the Originif there is oneis to be blamed for all ill will, and any process that seems dangerous has to be furthered and helped! But then that consciousness came (almost like an entity with a warlike power), and it stayed until the body recovered its peace, its usual peace.
I could see something almost like the fire of battlean interesting spectacle! The body was very conscious of the Help it was getting, and that gave it a lot of confidence: it came out of the battle with a kind of increased certainty that it was being led just as it had to be in order to do the thing something nobody knows how to do externally, nobody! Nobody can knownei ther the process nor anything. Its entirely new.
Of course, the supreme Consciousness knows what Its doing and whats going to happen, in that It knows what It wants; but it isnt something that operates from cause to effect, and from ev ents or circumstances to consequences, the way ordinary consciousness operates; its not like that at all, and thats why were unable to express it outwardly for the mom ent. Maybe later we will be able to spell something out, but it will never be more than (how can I put it?) just a story, right? Not THE thing itself.
--
Dont let this visit ruffle you. Ess entially, his approach has always seemed peripheral to me, just one part of an immense whole. It repres ents ONE aspect of the quest for the Divine on earth,2 and it is part of an entire line, like all the sannyasins, all the saddhus, and so on. X happens to have come closer because he has worshipped the Goddess of Love so much, the Shaktis aspect of Love, and that naturally led him here, brought him close, but. I see it as part of a whole worldamong many other things. You know, theres that festival celebrated every ten years, I think, when all the saddhus go to ba the in the Ganges3; Ive seen all the photosits painful. Its its painful. It is no more beautiful or harmonious than a stampeding mob in a revolution. Its there is no special grace.
Now, do you remember the story of that man who has been living at the source of the Ganges for tw enty-five years? Here he is (Mother shows his photo). He was in his cave and V. said to him, Id like to take your picture. All right, he answered, and came out and sat down in the snowstark naked.
0 1962-10-06, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Something else is needed, something else entirely.
We just have to wait. Wait for it to come.
0 1962-10-12, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
One sometimes even goes to a great deal of trouble to explain things to Him: Its this way, You see, thats how it is. And when youre finished, you realize. Oh, that reminds me of an experience I had one night two years ago. It was the first time the Supermind entered the cells of my body, and it had risen up to the brain. So the brain found itself in the presence of something (laughing) considerably more powerful than it was used to receiving! And, like the idiot it is, it got worried. As for me (gesture above or beyond), I saw it all, I saw that the brain was getting worried, so I tried to tell it what a nitwit it was and to just keep still. It did keep still, but you know, it was really seething away in there, as if it were about to explode. So I said, All right now, lets go see Sri Aurobindo and ask him what to do. Immediately everything became utterly calm and I woke up in Sri Aurobindos house in the subtle physicala very material sensation, with everything quite concrete. So I arrived, or rather not I but the body-consciousness arrived2 and started explaining to Sri Aurobindo what had happenedit was very excited, talking and talking. The response was a sort of inscrutable smile and then nothing. He simply looked. An inscrutable smilenot a word. All the excitem ent died away. A face out of eternity. The excitem ent died away. Then it was time for Sri Aurobindos lunch (people eat therein another way). So as not to disturb him, I w ent into the next room. He came in after some time and stood before me (Imy physical being, that is, my physical consciousness had had time to calm down). I knelt down and took his hand (a MUCH clearer sensation than anything physical, mon petit!); I kissed his hand. He simply said, Oh! This is better. (Mother laughs.)
I am skipping all the details (it was a long thing, lasting an hour), but suddenly he w ent out of the room, leaving me alone (after expressing what he wanted to tell me with a gesture, which I understood). And then I simply seemed to take a step (gesture of crossing a threshold), and I found myself lying in my bed again. And at that mom ent I said to myself, Really! We make all kinds of complications, and its so simple: you just have to go like this (same gesture) and there you are; then you go like that (same gesture in the opposite direction) and youre back here.
0 1962-10-16, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And this is just what I am realizing (I dont think its anything unique or exceptional): the closer one draws to the cell itself, the more the cell says, But I am immortal! Only it must become conscious. But this takes place almost automatically: the brain cells are very conscious; the cells of the hands and arms of musicians are very conscious; with athletes and gymnasts, the cells of the entire body are wonderfully conscious. So, being conscious, those cells become conscious of their principle of immortality and say, Why would I want to grow old? Why! They dont want to grow old. It is very interesting.
So all the ideas I used to have about death, all the things I have said about death, practically all the things I have consciously DONE2oh! I have realized that all this, too, belongs to the past, and to a past of Ignorance. Here also, I will probably have other things to say later.
0 1962-10-20, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Actually, each case is entirely individual.
But there is only a small beginning of knowledge. It will come later on.
0 1962-10-24, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(After listening to Satprem read his manuscript Mother enters into a long meditation.)
He always comes here when you read. And such peace is created when hes here, such peace; something so solid. Dont you feel it?
0 1962-10-30, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Its another story when it comes to doing yoga. Although that must depend entirely on the individual. The Chinese dont have the same spiritual intensity you find rooted in the Indian characterits something completely differ ent. Here, spiritual life is real, concrete, tangibletotally real. For the Chinese it all happens at the top of the head.
Theyre not going to come here, are they?
--
Its like that famous Nirvanayou can find it behind everything. Theres a psychic nirvana, a m ental nirvana, even a vital nirvana. I think I already told you about the experience I had with Tagore in Japan. Tagore always used to say that as soon as he started meditating he entered Nirvana, and he asked me to meditate with him. We sat together in meditation. I was expecting to make a very steep asc ent, but he simply w ent into his MIND, and there (what I do, you see, is tune in to the person I am meditating with, id entify with him thats how I know what happens). Well, he started meditating, and everything quite rapidly came to a halt, became absolutely immobile (this he did very well), and from there he sort of fell backwards, and it was Nothingness. And he could remain in that state indefinitely! We did in fact stay like that for a rather long time; I dont remember how long, three quarters of an hour or an hour, but anyway it was long enough. I was keeping alert the whole time to see if, by chance, he would go on into something else, but there he stayedhe stayed there nice and calm, without stirring. Then he came back, his mind started up again, and that was that.
I said nothing to him.
--
You probably enter into the state of pure Existence. First m ental silence, then pure Existence, Existence outside of the Manifestation: the state of Sat.
It is pure Existence, outside of the Manifestation.
Whenever weve meditated together, Ive always had the impression that you entered into that sort of rather blissful silence; its something perman ent, yes, but not an annihilation. Its Sat the Sat that comes before Chit-Tapas.3 In other words it can last an eternity with no sense of time, and be an infinity with no sense of space.
But I tell you, it also has an EXTRAORDINARY utility: it automatically renews all the energies. Actually, thats the true reason for sleep: to be able to enter that state. And thats why those who can enter it consciously in meditation need much less sleep. Much less. Its what enables the body to last: Sat. And whenever I have meditated with you, Ive always had a feeling of entering that state.
Pure existence, outside of the Manifestation. It is wonderfully luminous, immobile, tranquil, and a sort of bliss devoid of any vibration, beyond vibration.
--
Its what I use, for example, when the body has some trouble (I use it for the most ordinary and minor things: coughing when something goes down the wrong way, hiccups, things like that). All these minor problems of the body can be stopped almost instantly by entering that state. It takes a few seconds. It should be kept in the background all the time, all the time, all the time, as if supporting everything from behind. By nature it is absolutely sil ent, immobile, luminous. Yes, it gives the sense of Eternity and Infinity. It is eternal, infinite, outside of time, outside of space, its its Sat.
If one can keep that constantly in the background of ones consciousness, theres no further need to take off anywhere (ethereal gesture towards the heights): all you have to do is this (gesture of stepping back), and there it is.
--
To have it (just to give you an idea) took me a year of exclusive conc entration on finding that within myself that is, to enter into contact with the imman ent God. I did nothing but that, thought of nothing but that, wanted nothing but that. There was even a rather funny instance, because I had resolved to do it (I had already been working for a very long time, of course; Madame Thon had told me about my mission on earth and all that, so you can imagine I am talking about the psychic being belonging to this pres ent creation, this formationMo ther touches her body) anyway, it was New Years Eve and I decided: Within the coming year. I had a large, almost square studio, a bit bigger than this room, with a door leading onto a patio. I opened the little door and looked at the sky and there, just as I looked, was a shooting star. You know the tradition: if you formulate an aspiration just as you see a shooting star, before the star disappears, it will be realized within the year. And there, just as I opened the door, was a shooting star I was totally in my aspiration: Union with the inner Divine. And before the end of December of the following year, I had the experience.
But I was entirely conc entrated on that. I was in Paris, and I did nothing else but that; when I walked down the street, I was thinking only of that. One day, as I was crossing the Boulevard Saint Michel, I was almost run over (Ive told you this), because I was thinking of nothing but thatconc entrating, conc entrating like sitting in front of a closed door, and it was painful! (intense gesture to the chest) Physically painful, from the pressure. And then suddenly, for no appar ent reason I was neither more conc entrated nor anything elsepoof! It opened. And with that. It didnt just last for hours, it lasted for months, mon petit! It didnt leave me, that light, that dazzling light, that light and immensity. And the sense of THAT willing, THAT knowing, THAT ruling the whole life, THAT guiding everythingsince then, this sense has never left me for a minute. And always, whenever I had a decision to make, I would simply stop for a second and receive the indication from there.
But that was ages ago. I have done a lot of things since then. It was long ago, in 1912. And now oh, this old carcass!
0 1962-11-03, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In the next conversation, Mother added: "For example, if someone wants to enter some place, you needn't say, 'Don't enter'; you do what's necessary and he cannot enter, he tries but he can't that's what I call 'keeping under control.' I didn't need to speak to or touch them: the Force was doing the work."
***
0 1962-11-07, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(Mother again speaks of the experience of SAT or pure Existence in the background of consciousness, and describes the movem ent of consciousness needed to enter that state:)
Its somewhat similar to collecting ones thoughts. Its part conc entration, part interiorization, and both togetherlike drawing back, but without movem ent.
--
Thats really what it is: to go beyond this pres ent condition and enter a state where everything is stabilized. You cant say immobilized, because that would mean the opposite of movem entit isnt the opposite of movem ent! Its something else. You immediately have the sense of Eternity; not of something endlessly developing, no: everything stops. But everything stops implies the sense of something that moves, yet you no longer have that sense.1 And yet it is Existence, it is BEING: Being, pure Existence; full consciousness without an objectwithout an object of consciousness. Pure Existence without any developm ent.
And its always here, it never leaves you, its always here; you dont have to go off looking for itit is always here. If you start thinking about it, you might say: without that, there can be no world; without that, there can be neither time nor space nor movem ent nor consciousness nothing. Therefore, it is everywhere.
0 1962-11-10, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(Mother listens to Satprem read a chapter from his manuscript entitled "Under the Sign of the Gods," in which he speaks of the overmind's inadequacy for attaining the plenitude of evolution, Afterwards, Mother tells what she saw while he was reading.)
Theres a kind of cadence.
--
Some people found it interesting, mon petit! First of all, Sri Aurobindo was there it was like a large hall: a very large room with scarcely any walls, just enough so it didnt seem wide open to everything. And then there was a kind of musical instrum ent, like a grand piano, but much bigger and higher, playing its own music: nobody was playing it. And its own music was the music of what you have written. It was taking the form of something like luminous, colored sheets of paper, tinged with gold, with pink, which were scattering in the air and then very slowly falling onto a floor that was scarcely a floor, with an almost birdlike movem ent. They were falling, fallingalmost square sheets of paper falling one upon another like feathersnothing heavy about it. And then from the left a being like a god from the overmind entered the room; he was both like a Hindu deity with a tiara, and a kind of angel in a long robe (a combination of the two), and he moved so lightly, without touching the groundhe was all lightness. And with a very lovely and harmonious movem ent (everything was so harmonious!), he gathered up all the sheets: he took them in his arms and they stayed therethey were weightless, you see. He gathered them up, smiling all the while, with a young and very, very luminous and happy face something very lovely. Then, when he had gathered them all up, he turned towards me (I was here; you were over there, the music was there and Sri Aurobindo was there), and said as he was leaving, I am taking all this to give to them, as if he were returning to the overm ental world where they were greatly interested in it! (Mother laughs.)
But it was all so lovely, so very lovely! There was a rhythm; it was all unfolding rhythmically, a rhythm of the falling sheets of paper; and a rhythm moving along very slowly, not in a straight line, and undulating.
--
Thats what I was beginning to see towards the end. It took form gradually, gradually, and it was all there by the time you finished reading. At the beginning my att ention was divided between what you were reading and what was going on; afterwards it was entirely focused on what was happening: your sheets of paper falling and landing weightlessly, like birds, and spreading over a floor that wasnt solid (it was there just to give the impression of a room, but you could see through it). And while you were reading, he was gathering them all up, with a long robe trailing behind him. This being was made of practically the same substance as the sheets coming out of the piano (it was a kind of piano, it was playing music, but it was the principle of what you have written). So he gathered up everything, and when he had a stack this big, he said, I am going to take it and show it to them.
It was really lovely.
0 1962-11-20, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
To impose their rule, you seetheyre at the door and can enter whenever they want.
Why did they take Tibet?
0 1962-11-27, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
A time will come when it will all be done automatically, but right now that would be impossible. As it is, the way the Force acts is already making people here a little disori entedits verging on being unintelligible to them. In other words, its beginning to obey another law. For instance, to know at the exact mom ent what needs to be done or said, whats going to happenif theres the slightest bit of concern or conc entration to know, it doesnt come. But if I am just like that, simply in a kind of inner immobility, then for all the little details of life, I know at the exact mom ent. What needs to be said comes: you say this. And not like an order from outside: it just comes, there it is. What needs to be said is there, the reply that needs to be s ent is there; the person who enters, entersyoure not forewarned. You do things in a kind of automatic way. In the m ental world, you think of something before doing it (it may happen very fast, but both movem ents are distinct); here it isnt like that.
This is beginning to be a rather constant occurrence. Its already very baffling for all those who live with me, but if I were as I should be, I think it would be quite intolerable.
--
One day, I dont remember on what occasion, I saw what had motivated the forefa thers who wrote the Vedas: it was the need for immortality; they were in quest of immortality.6 From there, I w ent on to Buddha and saw what had set the Buddha on his way: this kind of need for permanence, purely and simply; the vision of the impermanence of things had profoundly troubled him, and he felt the need for Permanence. His whole quest was to find the Perman ent (why was he so anxious to have the Perman ent?). There are a few things like that in human nature, in the deep human need. And then I saw another such need: a need for the Certitude which is security. I dont know how to explain it. Because I had the experience of it, I saw it was one of the human needs; and I understood it very intensely, for when I met Sri Aurobindo, this Certitude is what made me feel I had found the Truth I needed. And I didnt realize how DEEP this need was until he left his bodyjust then, at the mom ent of the transition. Then the entire physical consciousness felt its certitude and security collapse. At that mom ent I saw (we spoke about it with Nolini a year later and he had had exactly the same impression), I saw this was similar to Buddhas experience when he realized that everything was imperman ent and so all of life collapsed in other words, Something Else HAD to be found. Well, at that mom ent. Id already had all my experiences, but with Sri Aurobindo, for the thirty years I lived with him (a little more than thirty years), I lived in an absolute, an absolute of securitya sense of total security, even physical, even the most material security. A sense of absolute security, because Sri Aurobindo was there. And it held me up, you know, like this (gesture of being carried): not for ONE MINUTE in those thirty years did it leave me. That was why I could do my work with a Base, really, a Base of absolutenessof eternity and absoluteness. I realized it when he left: THAT suddenly collapsed.
And then I understood that it is one of lifes needs (there are several); and its what spurs the human being to get out of his pres ent state and find another one. These needs are (whats the word?) the seeds, the germs of evolution. They compel us to progress. The whole time Sri Aurobindo was here, as I said, individual progress was automatic: all the progress Sri Aurobindo made, I made. But I was in a state of eternity, of absoluteness, with a feeling of such security, in every circumstance. Nothing, nothing unfortunate could happen, for he was there. So when he left, all at oncea fall into a pit. And thats what projected me wholly (Mother gestures forward).
That is, I understood why he left. The whole terrestrial evolution had come to a halt. One progressedone can always progress, thats nothing but the entire TERRESTRIAL evolution was at a standstill. If there were permanence in life, nothing would budge. And these needs are the seeds of evolution. So thats what I saw: in the past, in the future, universally. It was very interesting.
And with no effort, no tension, no as if they were the most natural things in the world. Things like this happen all the time.
0 1962-12-04, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Its only because Sri Aurobindos conscious will entered into itleft one body and entered the other. I was standing facing his body, you know, and I materially felt the friction as his will entered into me (his knowledge and his will): You will accomplish my Work. He said to this body: You will accomplish my Work. Its the one thing that kept me alive.
Apart from that. Theres nothing, no physical destruction I can think of, comparable to that collapse.
--
And its not what one might imagine, its not one form entering anotherit doesnt keep him from being wherever he wants to be and doing whatever he wants to do, appearing as he wants to appear and being involved with everything happening on earth: it doesnt change any of that. And its not just a part of him [that is in Mother, but his totality]. And thats how I know he was manifesting the Absolute, he was a manifestation of the Absolute. Of course, afterwards he revealed himself as what I had called the Master of Yoga; that was the reason he came on earth (what people here in India call an Avatar). But thats still a way of seeing things SEPARATELY: its not the thingTHE thing.
Well see tomorrow [December 5].
--
Thats why I have never been given any assurance, because its only when one enters that consciousness that Death no longer makes sense.
Weve still got a long way to go.
0 1962-12-15, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
No, Theon always said that the Serp ent had nothing to do with Satan, it was the symbol of evolution (Theon was entirely pro-evolution), the spiral path of evolution, and that the earthly paradise, on the contrary, was under the domination of Jehovah, the great Asura who claimed to be unique, who wanted to be the only God. For Theon, there is no such thing as a one and only God: there is the Unthinkable. Its not a God.
But to me this seems to come from his Jewish background. Because Thon was Jewish, even though he never m entioned the fact (the Tlemcen officials made it known: when he arrived he had to tell them who he was). He never spoke of it and he had changed his name. They said he was of Jewish origin, but they could never say whether he was Polish or Russian. At least the person who told me never knew. But for the Jews its the Unthinkable, whose name must not be uttered (it is uttered only once a year, on the Day of Atonem ent; I think thats what its called). Its the word Yahveh, and it must not be uttered. But the prayers speak of the Elohim, and the Hebrew word Elohim is plural, meaning the invisible lords. So there was no one and only God for Thon, only the unthinkable Formless; and all the invisible beings who claimed to be one and only gods were Asuras.
0 1962-12-22, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And I found out about the immediate effects of it even before recalling it, for it all unfolded in reverse: when a certain thing was done, I thought, What on earth! This person is wonderful. And then I suddenly realized, But I told him to do that! I told him. Then the image came the image I dont mean the sort of memory one has of a vision, but the memory of something one has DONE. With that kind of image, its not that you look: it just enters into you quite naturally. It has a particular quality. Thats how I became aware of these changes. I noticed them on my own.
And they are facts. Theres nothing to discuss: they are facts. And yet materially, according to physical appearances, that is, I didnt stir from here.
--
Not at all! The memory of an exteriorization in the subtle physical is VERY differ ent. I have a lot of experience of it, you know! I have been familiar with the phenomenon for something like sixty yearsits completely differ ent. But this is entirely the type of experience one has in the physical Falsehood, if you will, in the ordinary physical consciousness.
I hav ent said anything because people here tend to think I am going off my rocker, and I dont want to add to their impression! But even for me, it left me it took me a little while (it didnt happen just once, but two or three times, for differ ent things), I kept very still for a while to look into the phenomenon and try to analyze it.
0 1963-01-12, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There is also here the sister of the old portly doctor, she is (I think) five or six years older than Ishe is getting on for ninety. She has been dying away too, for several months. The doctors (who dont know the first thing in these matters) had declared she would die after a few days. Wait a little, I told them, this woman knows how to enter a state of rest, she has a very peaceful consciousness it will last long, it may last for years. She is in bed, she cant move much, but she lives. She too lives out of habit.
In reality, the body should be able to last MUCH LONGER than human beings think. They knock it about: as soon as someone is unwell, they drug or knock his body about, they take away that kind of calm vegetative serenity that can make it last a very long time. The way trees take a very long time to die.
--
Obviously, the whole difficulty is the mixing of two things: on one hand, the responsibility of everything, the entire organization, all these people hanging on to me (and naturally giving me work, even if we cut out whatever we can), and on the other, the study or recording of what goes on. If I had nothing to do and could note down my nights, what fascinating things there would be!
For instance, two or three nights ago (I dont remember), I was with Sri Aurobindo, we were doing a certain work (it was in a m ental zone with certain vital reactions mixed in), well, a general work. I was with Sri Aurobindo and we were doing the work together. He wanted to explain to me how a particular movem ent is turned into a distorted movem ent; he was explaining this to me (but theres nothing m ental or intellectual about it, nothing to do with theories). And without even (how can I put it?) without even a thought or an explanation to forewarn you, a true movem ent is changed into a movem ent that is not false but distorted. I was speaking to Sri Aurobindo and he was answering, then I turn my head away like this (not physicallyall this is an inner life, naturally), I turned my head as if to see the [vibratory] effect. Then I turn back and send Sri Aurobindo the movem ent necessary to carry on with the experience, and I receive a reply which surprises me because of the quality of its vibration (it was a reply of ignorance and weakness). So I turn my att ention back again, and as a matter of fact in Sri Aurobindos place I saw the doctor. Then I understood! Superficially, one may say, So, Sri Aurobindo and the doctor are the same! (To people who would see such a thing it would occur that they are the sameof course its all, all the same! All is one, people just dont understand this complete oneness.) Naturally it didnt surprise me for the thousandth of a second, there wasnt any surprise, but oh, I understood! This way (Mother slightly tilts her hand to the left), its Sri Aurobindo, and that way (slightly to the right), its the doctor. This way its the Lord, and that way its a man!!
0 1963-01-14, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
As soon as it comes (Mother makes a solemn face), I get suspicious, I say to myself, Oh, something is wrong, some influence or other must have entered the atmosphere that shouldnt be there. All that remorse, all that regret, all that ooh! The sense of indignity, of fault and, going a little farther, the sense of sinoh, that! That seems to me to belong to another age, a Dark Age.
But especially all the prohibitions. For instance, let me quote you a statem ent from X which I heard from a third person: I will do a special puja to help money come. I will prepare a special yantram1 to bring money. But FOR GODS SAKE dont say anything [to Mother], dont do anything or give anything before January 14, because until January 14, a certain planet is in opposition to a certain other planet (Mother laughs), so things follow a downward trend and wont be successful. But afterwards, that particular planet will be ascending and everything will be successful! (Mother laughs) Something in me said spontaneously (something, well, someone), spontaneously and immediately, But why? I can always hear! And I laughed. So they thought I was making fun of him I dont make fun: I laugh, its not the same!
--
It has become quite an entertaining little field of experiences, by the way. Because nowadays I send people cards, and I have lots of cards, innumerable kinds of cards2 (C. spends his time preparing them), and automatically, whenever I have to write a card for someone, it isnt as I decided beforeh and (because sometimes I decide beforehand), the choice is made at the last minute: THIS is the card I must send and THIS is what I must say. I neednt worry about it, it comes just in time. Then I only have to get up, go find the card, write, and its all over. People will tell me (precisely those who lead a spiritual life), What! You make such a trifle the object of a spiritual experience! And its the same with ALL small things: what object to be used, what perfume to put on, what bath salts, all manner of futile, frivolous, unimportant thingsHow shocking! I dont even make an effort to find out or to (think, thank God I dont think!), it just comes: this, that, that. Not saidKNOWN. It isnt even said, I am not told, Do this, never. Its KNOWN: Ah, here we are, thats it! And I choose and do itvery comfortable!
It was actually my experience (for a long, long time, many years) but, these last few days, concrete, in the bodys cells. There ar ent things in which the Lord is and things in which He isntthere are only fools who think so! He is ALWAYS there. He takes nothing seriously and has fun with everything. And He plays with you, if you know how to play but you dont, people dont know how to play. But how well He knows! How He plays with everything, with the smallest things: you have objects to put on your table? Dont think you have to ponder over how to arrange themno, well play: lets put this here, lets put that there, lets put this like that. Then some other day (because people think, Now she has decided on this arrangem ent, so thats the way its going to bewell, not so!), some other day (they want to help you! They want to help you put things in order, so it just becomes a mess!), I stay still and quiet, and then we start playing: So! Lets put this here, and that there, and this there ah! (Mother laughs) Since I saw you last time it has been that way constantly, probably to prepare me for this aphorism!
Very entertaining.
There you are, mon petit.
0 1963-01-18, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(Satprem suggests to Mother to publish in the next "Bulletin," of February, her entire talk on "God's laughter," and in particular the whole passage in which she said: "It's dreadful to take life seriously! Those who have given me the most difficulties have always been the people who take life seriously.")
Oh, no!
0 1963-01-30, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
So I made a resolve (because its neither to be published nor to be shown, but its a marvelous delight): I will simply keep it the way I keep the Agenda. I have a feeling that, later, perhaps (how can I put it?) when people can be less m ental in their activity, it will put them in touch with that light [of Savitri]you know, immediately I enter something purely white and sil ent, light and alive: a sort of beatitude.
This other passage is what I translated the first time:
--
Yesterday, after my translation, I was surprised at that sense a sense of absolute: THATS HOW IT IS. Then I tried to enter into the literary mind and wondered, What would be its various suggestions? And suddenly, I saw somehow (somehow, somewhere there) a host of suggestions for every line! Ohh! No doubt, I thought, it IS an absolute! The words came like that, without any room for discussion or anything. To give you an example: when he says the clamour of the human plane, clameur exists in French, its a very nice wordhe didnt want it, he said No, without any discussion. It wasnt an answer to a discussion, he just said, Not clameur: vacarme.1 It isnt as though he was weighing one word against another, it wasnt a matter of words but the THOUGHT of the word, the SENSE of the word: No, not clameur, its vacarme.
Interesting, isnt it?
0 1963-02-15, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(A little later, regarding a passage from the Agenda of 1962, at the time of Mothers first great turning point, which she intended to show to one of the people of her entourage in an attempt to make him understand her work:)
I had asked Sujata for two copies, but then I realized it wasnt at all necessary. I told you I would give it to A. for him to read, and when A. came, I showed him one or two of the latest [Agenda conversations] typed by Sujata and soon lost any desire to try again.
0 1963-02-19, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It was really very interesting. Afterwards its just a memory, no longer the thing. It concerned the creation of the material world, the material universe, in the light of the conception of the Supreme in love with His emanation. But the vision was all-embracing, as if I were on the other side the side of the Supreme, not of the creation and saw the creation as a whole, with the true sense of progress, the true sense of advance, of movem ent, and the true way in which all that doesnt belong to the future creation will disappear in a kind of pralaya1 (it cant really disappear but it will be withdrawn from the Manifestation). And it was very interesting: all that doesnt collaborate (in the sense that it is a suffici ent experience, an experience that has come to its end) was reabsorbed. It was like the true vision of what was rendered as the Last Judgm ent. It is something going on constantly, that mighty gust of manifestation, and there are things that have been, according to our vision of time, but that live on, that continue to exist in the future; there are things that exhaust themselves (thats in the pres ent), and there are things that have no more purpose, that cannot keep pace with the movem ent (I dont know how to explain this) and enter the Non-Being the pralaya, the Non-Being, the unmanifestof course, not in their forms but in their essence; that is to say, the Supreme in them remains the Supreme but unmanifest.
But it was all a living, palpable experience which lasted for a day and a half. The entire universal movem ent was LIVED and sensed. Not merely seen but lived and in what light! What stupendous power! With that kind of certitude at the core of everything something very odd. Its very difficult to express. But the experience lasted so long that it became perfectly familiar. To translate it into words I might say: it is the Supremes way of seeingof feeling, of living. I was living things the way He does. And it gives a power of certitude of realization. In the sense that what we are heading for is already here; the road we look back on, the road we have traveled and the road yet to travel, it all lives simultaneously. And with such logic! An eternal, wonderful superlogic which makes it obviousness itselfeverything is obviousness itself. Struggle, effort, fear, all of that, oh, absolutely, absolutely nonexist ent. And together with this, the explanation of the feeling we have of not wanting certain things any more: they leave the Manifest. You see, its like a sieve into which everything is thrown and where He to Him, everything, but everything is the same, but there is the vision of what He wants, and also of what is useless for what He wants or would prev ent the fullness and totality of what He wants (contradictions of sorts, I dont know how to explain it)so with that He just goes this way (gesture of reswallowing) and it goes out of the Manifestation.
At the time I could have said it in a more understandable language, while now
--
Last night or the night before, I was in Sri Aurobindos house and he was telling me, Some things are going wrong. And he showed me around his house. There were some pipesbig pipes that had burst. You see, he told me, people have been careless. In some places they had taken away all the furniture and were cleaning up in a stupid way: See, he said, they dont do things the proper way. Then I understood it was the reflection of the way things happen here. And he was (not angry, he is never angry), but people gave him a lot of bother, they were prev enting him from doing his work: I would come in a room and try to arrange a corner because he wanted to write, but it was impossible, the whole setup made it impossible for him to have even a dec ent corner where he could write then at other times, it would be quite fine. Because it changes continuously. The layout of rooms has an inner meaningit MEANS somethingso it always stays the same as if the setting stayed unchanged (because its not a house built from an architects plan! Its his own house, which he has arranged according to his taste, so it stays that way). But people seem to have unrestricted entry there, and everyone wants to do something, to make himself useful, (laughing) so its terrible! This is what erased my experience or pushed it back into the realm of memories. As though he were saying, Dont be too concerned with universal things, because over here (laughing) things ar ent too smooth!
***
--
I have made some experim ents with French too. I wrote something: Pour chacun, le plus important est de savoir si on apparti ent au passe qui se perpetue, au pres ent qui sepuise, lavenir qui veut natre. [The most important point for everyone is to know whether he belongs to the past perpetuating itself, to the pres ent exhausting itself, or to the future trying to be born.] I gave it to Zhe didnt understand. So I told him, It doesnt mean our past, our pres ent or our future. I wrote this when I was in that state [the experience Mother told at the beginning of this conversation], and it was in connection with a very sweet old lady who has just left her body. This is what I said to her. Everybody had been expecting her departure for more than a month or two, but I said, You will see, she is going to last; she will last for at least another month or two. Because she knows how to live within, outside her body, and the body lives on out of habit, without jerks and jolts. That was her condition, and it could last a very long time. They had announced she would leave within two days, but I said, Its not true. I know her well, in the sense that she had come out of her body and there was a link with me. And I said to her, What do you care! (though she wasnt at all worried, she was staying peacefully with me), The whole point is to know whether one belongs to the past perpetuating itself, to the pres ent exhausting itself, or to the future trying to be born. Sometimes what WE call the past is right here, its the future trying to be born; sometimes what WE call the pres ent is something in advance, something that came ahead of time; but sometimes also its something that came late, that is still part of all that is to disappear I saw it all: people, things, circumstances, everything through that perception, the vibration that would go on transforming itself, the vibration that would exhaust itself and disappear, the vibration that, though manifested for a long time, would be entitled to continue, to persist that changes all notions! It was so interesting! So I wrote it down as it waswithout any explanations (you dont feel much like explaining in such a case, the thing is so self-evid ent!). Poor Z, he stared at meall at sea! So I told him, Dont try to understand. I am not speaking of the past, pres ent and future as we know them, its something else. (Mother laughs)
But its amusing because I had never paid much att ention to that [the questions of language], the experience is novel, almost the discovery of the truth behind expression. Before, my concern was to be as clear, exact and precise as possible; to say exactly what I meant and put each word in its proper place. But thats not it! Each word has its own life! Some are drawn together by affinity, others repel each other its very funny!
0 1963-02-21, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
A total surrender, an exclusive self-opening to the divine influence, a constant and integral choice of the Truth and rejection of the falsehood, these are the only conditions made. But these must be fulfilled entirely, without reserve, without any evasion or presence, simply and sincerely down to the most physical consciousness and its workings.
Sri Aurobindo
0 1963-02-23, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Otherwise, the entire night is conscious, and you cannot imagine the multitude of things that can be done in a night!
Anyhow, its good, I am very glad for her [Sujata], its a very good sign.
--
Yesterday evening (was it yesterday? No, the day before), when I w ent out on the balcony-terrace,3 the difference in perception between the consciousness I have now and the one I had before felt enormous! Before, as I have always said, I would stay there, call the Lord, be in His presence, and only when He withdrew would I come in again thats how it was. And I had a certain relationship with people, things, the outside world (outside, well, not outsideanyway, the world). The day before yesterday, when I w ent to the balcony, I wasnt thinking of anything or observing anything, I simply w ent I didnt want to know what was going on, it didnt interest me, I wasnt observing. The other experience [of the previous balcony, one year ago] seemed to go back c enturies! It was so much OTHER! And so spontaneous, so natural, and so immense too! The earth was tiny. Yet it was very much here: I wasnt over there, the BODY itself was feeling that way. And at the same time (I was two floors above people), every time I looked, I recognized scores and scores of people, they seemed to leap to my eyesa crystal clear vision, much sharper (the vision I had before was always a bit hazy because what I saw wasnt entirely physical: I saw the movem ent of forces), and yesterday, it was as if as if I had risen above the very possibility of haziness! It was far less physicalFAR MORE accurate.4
Formerly too, I used to sense the Force, the Consciousness, the Power conc entrated in a particular point and then spreading out. While here, there was an IMMENSITY of Power, of Light, of Consciousness, of perception, conc entrated in a tiny point: the people gathered there.
--
Fairly often, its Sri Aurobindo. But this time it was entirely impersonal. It was something that WILL NO LONGER tolerate in the world a certain kind of selfish stupidityto trample this childs finer feelings just because she isnt stupidly attached to her family (who didnt even give her a single thought all the time she was here, she didnt exist for them).
If you want your children to love you, you should at least love them a little, care for them a little, no? Its elem entary, you dont have to be very bright to understand that but they wont understand: It is a childs DUTY to love his par ents!! And if you dont fulfill your duty, youre put in jail.
0 1963-03-06, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
So looking at it that way, for a given universe, a miracle would mean the sudden appearance of something from another universe. And for the earth (which brings the problem down to a manageable size), a miracle means the sudden appearance of something that doesnt belong to the earth and this entry of a principle that doesnt belong to the earth as a finite world causes a radical and instant change.
But then again, as the saying goes, the entIRE whole is found in principle at the very core of each part; so even this miracle isnt possible.
We might say that the sense of miracle can only belong to a finite world, a finite consciousness, a finite conception. It is the abrupt, unexpected entryor appearance or interv ention or penetrationof something that did not exist in this physical world. So it follows that any manifestation of a will or consciousness belonging to a realm more infinite and eternal than the earth is necessarily a miracle on the earth. But if you go beyond the finite world or the understanding proper to the finite world, then miracle does not exist. The Lord can play at miracles if He enjoys it, but theres no such thing as a miracleHe plays all possible games.
You can begin to understand Him only when you FEEL it that way, that He plays all possible gamesand possible not according to human conception but according to His own conception!
--
In fact, for education, people should always encourage both tendencies side by side: the thirst for the Marvelous, the seemingly unrealizable, for something that fills you with a sense of divinity, while at the same time encouraging, in the perception of the world as it is, an exact, correct and sincere observation, the abolition of all imaginings, a constant control, and a most practical and meticulous feeling for exactness in details. Both tendencies should go side by side. Generally, people kill one with the idea that its necessary in order to develop the otherwhich is totally erroneous. The two can coexist, and as knowledge grows, a mom ent comes when you understand that they are two aspects of the same thing, namely, a clear vision, a superior discernm ent. But instead of the vision and discernm ent being limited and narrow, they become absolutely sincere, correct, exactAND immense, embracing an entire field thats not yet part of the concrete Manifestation.
This is very important from an educational point of view.
0 1963-03-09, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But flung like that! For a very long time the memory of the SENSATION remained: something that w ent like this (same gesture of a leaf falling) and simply set me down on the road. When I worked with Thon, the memory came back, and I saw it was an entity: what people in Europe call angels (what do they call it?) guardian angels, thats right. An entity. Thon had told me of certain worlds (worlds of the higher intellect I dont remember, he had named all the differ ent planes), and in that world are winged beingswho have wings of their own free choice, because they find it pretty! And Madame Thon had always seen two such beings with me. Yet she knew me more than ten years later. And it appears they were always with me. So I took a look and, sure enough, there they were. One even tried to draw: he asked me to lend him my hand to do drawings. I l ent my hand, but when I saw the drawing (he did one), I told him, The ones I do without you are much better! So that was the end of the matter!
What did it depict?
0 1963-03-13, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
So you came (you see, its the answer) to manifest (its very good, I like this answer very much), to manifest the bliss above. You understand? He goes beyond all past attempts to unite with the Supreme, because none of them satisfies himhe aspires for something more. So when everything is annulled, he enters a Nothingness, then comes out of it with the capacity to unite with the new Bliss.
Thats it, its good!
0 1963-03-16, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I dont remember in detail (I wrote it down), but the idea was like this: the Lord makes you die only with your cons entyour cons ent is necessary for you to die. And unless He decides, you can never die. Those two things: for you to die, something (the inmost soul, that is) must cons ent, the soul must say yes, then you die; and when the soul says yes, its for the Lord to decide. Ever since that experience, there had been the certainty that you can die only when the Lord wills it, that it depends entirely and exclusively on His Will, that there are no accid ents, no unforeseeable mishaps, as human beings thinkall that doesnt exist: its His Will. From that experience till this latest one [the death of death], I lived in that knowledge. Yet with the feeling of not quite the unknown but the incomprehensible. The feeling of something in the consciousness which doesnt understand (what I mean by understand is having the power to do and undo, thats what I call to understand: the power to realize or to undo, thats the real understanding, the POWER), well, of something which eluded me. It was still the mystery of the Infinite Supreme. And when that experience [the death of death] came, then, Ah, there it is! I have it, Ive caught it! At last, I have it.
I didnt have it long (laughing), it w ent away! But my position changed. Its one more thing I see from above; I rose above, my position is above.
0 1963-03-19, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I came across a man who had that blue light but I found him rather formidable. He looked after all the religious rites and priests of B.s state. He came here and asked to see me. I saw him on a December 9 (I think) when I paid a visit to the estate at Aryankuppam. I was walking in the gardens when suddenly I felt something pulling at meand none too g ently! I turned around and saw a tall man, standing and staring at me. So (I didnt know who he was, no one had told me), I stared back and simply answered his impudence! And pfft! it just fell off. I was surprised. Later (I had not yet been told who he was), he asked to see me. When he entered the room, I felt I felt a solid being. I dont know how to define it, I had never before felt it in a human beingsolid. As solid as rock. Extraordinarily solidcoagulated, an edifice. And quite powerful, I must say. Not like an arrow (gesture upward) but all around him. Then it was very funny (because theres no doubt he must have had an awesome effect on people instantly, without a word or anything), but I answered in my own way, with something else!
He entered the room wearing some kind of religious headdress, I cant say what, and intending to be very arrogant. He w ent past me stiffly, and suddenly what do I see but the man do his pranam.2 He stepped back, took off his hat and did his pranam. And stayed that way for nearly a quarter of an hour. And it was interesting, his response was interesting. Then he started talking to me (someone translatedhe spoke in Hindi, I think), asking me to take care of B. I said something in turn, and then thought strongly, Now, time is up, it cant last forever! (He had already been there for more than fifteen minutes.) And suddenly I see him stiffen, put his thing back on his head, and go.
Hes the only man who gave me that sensation in my whole life.
--
A rather funny thing was that the day before, he had met N., and N. told me, When that man entered my room, he stared at me, and I felt forbidden to speak I wanted to say something but my mouth remained sealed! He froze me with a look, I couldnt utter a word!
Thats the kind of man he is, hes used to that sort of thing. The most solid man I have ever seen I mean, a oh, a remarkably organized individuality. He must be holding a tight grip on himself.
With Sri Aurobindo you felt as if you entered into an infinity, always, and so soft, so soft! Always like something soft, I dont know. With vibrations that, on the contrary, always made you wide, peacefulyou felt as if you were touching something limitless.
But that man, a MASS, ooh! harder than iron. Truly interesting.
0 1963-03-23, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
One thing, though: suddenly I read (yesterday or the day before) a sermon delivered in the U.S.A. by an American (who is a rabbi, a pastor and even a Catholic priest all at the same time!). He heads a group, a group for the unity of religions. A fairly young man, and a preacher. He gives a sermon every week, I think. He came here with some other Americans, stayed for two days and w ent back. But then, he s ent us the sermons he had given since his return, and in one of them he recounts his spiritual journey, as he calls it (a spiritual journey through China, Japan, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, and so on up to India). What shocked him most in India was the povertyit was an almost unbearable experience for him (thats also what prompted the two persons who were with him to leave, and he left with them): poverty. Personally, I dont know because Ive seen poverty everywhere; I saw it wherever I w ent, but it seems Americans find it very shocking. Anyway, they came here, and in his sermon he gives his impression of the Ashram. I read it almost with astonishm ent. That man says that the minute he entered this place, he felt a peace, a calm, a stability he had never felt ANYWHERE else in his life. He met a man (he doesnt say who, he doesnt name him and I couldnt find out), who he says was such a monum ent of divine peace and quietude that I only wished to sit sil ently at his side. Who it is, I dont know (theres only Nolini who might, possibly, give that impression). He attended the meditationhe says he had never felt anything so wonderful anywhere. And he left with the feeling this was a unique place in the world from the point of view of the realization of divine Peace. I read that almost with surprise. And hes a man who, intellectually, is unable to understand or follow Sri Aurobindo (the horizon is quite narrow, he hasnt got beyond the unity of religions, thats the utmost he can conceive of). Well, in spite of that Those who already know all of Sri Aurobindo, who come here thinking they will see and who feel that Peace, I can understand. But thats not the case: he was enthralled at once!
Its the same with people who get cured. That I know, to some ext ent: the Power acts so forcefully that it is almost miraculousat a distance. The Power I am very conscious of the Power. But, I must say, I find it doesnt act here so well as it does far away. On governm ent or national matters, on the terrestrial atmosphere, on great movem ents, also as inspirations on the level of thought (in certain people, to realize certain things), the Power is very clear. Also to save people or cure themit acts very strongly. But much more at a distance than here! (Although the receptivity has increased since I withdrew because, necessarily, it gave people the urge to find inside something they no longer had outside.) But here, the response is very erratic. And to distinguish between the proportion that comes from faith, sincerity, simplicity, and what comes from the Power Some people I am able to save (naturally, in my view, its because they COULD be saved), this is something that for a very long time I have been able to foresee. But now I dont try to know: it comes like this (gesture like a flash). If, for instance, I am told, So and so has fallen ill, well, immediately I know if he will recover (first if its nothing, some passing trouble), if he will recover, if it will take some time and struggle and difficulties, or if its fatalautomatically. And without trying to know, without even trying: the two things come together.2 This capacity has developed, first because I have more peace, and because, having more peace, things follow a more normal course. But there were two or three little instances where I said to the Lord (gesture of pres enting something, palms open upward), I asked Him to do a certain thing, and then (not very often, it doesnt happen to me often; at times it comes as a necessity, a necessity to pres ent the thing with a comm entfrom morning to evening and evening to morning I pres ent everything constantly, thats my movem ent [same gesture of pres enting something] but here, there is a comm ent, as if I were asking, Couldnt this be done?), and then the result: yes, immediately. But I am not the one who pres ents the thing, you see: its just the way it is, it just happens that way, like everything else.3 So my conclusion is that its part of the Plan, I mean, a certain vibration is necessary, enters [into Mother], intervenes, and No stories to tell, mon petit! Nothing to fill people with enthusiasm or give them trust, nothing.
Three or four days ago, a very nice man, whom I like a lot, who has been very useful, fell ill. (He has in fact been ill for a long time, and he is struggling; for all sorts of reasons of family, milieu, activities and so on, he isnt taken care of the way he should be, he doesnt take care of his body the way he should.) He had a first attack and I saw him afterwards. But I saw him full of life: his body was full of life and of will to live. So I said, No need to worry. Then after some time, maybe not even a month, another attack, caused not by the same thing but by its consequences. I receive a letter in which I am informed that he has been taken to the hospital. I was surprised, I said, But no! He has in himself the will to live, so why? Why has this happened? The mom ent I was informed and made the contact, he recovered with fantastic speed! Almost in a few hours. He had been rushed to the hospital, they thought it was most serious, and two days later he was back home. The hospital doctor said, Why, he has received a new life! But thats not correct: I had put him back in contact with his bodys will, which, for some reason or other, he had forgotten. Things like that, yes, theyre very clear, they take place very consciously but anyway, nothing worth talking about!
--
I began reading the letter, it was four or five pages long and I didnt have time. Nolini didnt say anything (of course, he is much too well-mannered to say anything), but within himself, he thought, Why does Mother waste her time reading this letter when we barely have time to do our work? It entered the atmosphere, and even before it reached me, as soon as I saw one, two, three, four, five pages, I said, Oh, enough! At the end of the first page, I said, Enough! and put the letter aside. But the thought from Nolini and the fact that my decision was made just a mom ent too late, a few seconds too late my body was in a sweat from head to toe! It felt terribly exhausted. It took me at least half a minute of conc entration to set things right. You understand, it has become so sensitive that in ordinary life it would be impossible but for its transformation it was a necessity. Still, it surprised me. Naturally, after half a minute it was all over, but I had to conc entrate and call for calm.
So the body thought, Oh, I hav ent got beyond that. If I have to do the right thing in the right way and right on the dot to keep my balance You understand, a sense of insecurity! And very strong, very strong. Of course, there is something like reason (not quite ordinary reason), something like reason that says, When you automatically and always do exactly what should be done, it will vanish. (Mother laughs) Thank you very much! But as it cannot be a m ental decision, then how? You see, you can learn only through experience, and since everything is in perpetual motion, the experience of the past cannot help for the future: its a matter of every minute. So how can you know? It means well know that we are free from error only when we are all the time, all the time in perfect harmony! But then there will be no point in knowing it, it will be done! Thats the situation. If the body is transformed and lives naturally in the divine rhythm, why would I need to know it! (Laughing) It will be immaterial to me, because it will BE. We want to know things when they ar ent yet.
0 1963-04-06, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But there too, a shift is taking place (what I told you once: those abrupt experiences that do not settle in but are first contacts2). After the lesson was drawn from this story, suddenly something arose in the body consciousness which isnt ONE bodys consciousness but a general body consciousnessan aspiration, something so pure, so sweet so sweet something like an entreaty that Truth and Light may at last be manifested here, in this. Not here in this (Mother touches her own body): it was everywhere.
Then there was a contact3there was a contactand a pale blue Light, very sweet, very bright, and an Assurance.
--
My only method is a kind of shield of m ental silence (in the ordinary mind), so that all the peoples thoughts do not come and pester me all the time, without letup. But they creep underneath! With some people, the mom ent they enter the room, I feel exhausted, because of their attitude. It doesnt work through thought at all: its a special vibration in my body.
With others, on the contrary, its fine.
0 1963-04-22, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I have just written a word to Mother to tell her that if I could, I would catch the first train home. When I arrived here, I got a horrible impression as never before, almost a panic. Everything was so terribly void and far away. Probably I have grown hypersensitive. If I were not afraid of yielding to that impression and if it wer ent rude to X, I would take noon train today. The new guest house is beyond description1: cem ent walls enclosed within cem ent walls; the plan is so wonderful that not a whiff of air can blow in here, nor can one see a single blade of grass. There are magnific ent wrought-iron railings and openwork cem ent designs, but not even the most basic amenities. I absolutely refused to enter that sarcophagus, so they put me up in an adjoining house purchased by X and used as a garage. Its unspeakably filthy. It didnt even occur to them to offer me a mat. Finally they brought a bench for me to sleep on, which I refused. So much for the material conditions. I hope the body will get better. As soon as I can dec ently leave, I shall weigh anchor.
Signed: Satprem
0 1963-05-03, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
From the standpoint of sensitivity or sensation (I dont know what to call it), when the body rests and enters the static state of pure Existence Before, it was (or gave) a sense of total immobilitynot something motionless: a non-movem ent, I dont know; not the opposition between something motionless and something in motion, not that the absence of any possibility of movem ent. But now, as it happens, the body has the sense not only of a terrestrial movem ent, but of a universal movem ent so fantastically rapid that it is imperceptible, beyond perception. As if beyond Being and Non-Being, there were a something thats both I mean, that doesnt move WITHIN a space but is both beyond immobility and beyond movem ent, in the sense that its so rapid as to be absolutely imperceptible to ALL the senses (I dont mean merely the physical senses), all the senses in all the worlds.
This is something new.
--
But from a much more external viewpoint, the night that followed your arrival there3 was dreadful, in the sense that the consciousness was put in contact with all the most negative and destructive things: like an entire world, yes, of denial, of refusal too, of opposition, of battle, of ill will the visual appearance was chalk-white, you know, the soulless white of chalk, everything was like that, even black was chalk-white (!). Something absolutely stripped of all soul life. Horrible. I dont know, I would have to go back years and years and years to find anything like it in my memory. And I was right in it, it was forced on me; it was as if I were made to stay there and watch it all.
I forgot: immediately afterwards I swept everything clean. Except for what Ive just said, I dont remember what it was I dont remember what it was because I did NOT want it to exist. But it was horrible. And in the morning, there was such a painful impression! So I thought something was wrong over there, and when I received your letter, I understood. But it isnt limited to one person or another, one place or another: it seems to evoke a universal way of being, thats what troubles me. As if an entire way of being which Ive been resisting for for, well, more than sev enty years at any rate, which Ive been keeping at arms length so it may no longer exist in a real way, as if it were all forced on me. Like a thing from a past that no longer has the right to exist.
Afterwards, it got better. That night was the worst.
0 1963-05-11, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
A mantra given by a guru is only the power to realize the experience of the discoverer of the mantra. The power is automatically there, because the sound contains the experience. I saw that once in Paris, at a time when I knew nothing of India, absolutely nothing, only the usual nonsense. I didnt even know what a mantra was. I had gone to a lecture given by some fellow who was supposed to have practiced yoga for a year in the Himalayas and recounted his experience (none too interesting, either). All at once, in the course of his lecture, he uttered the sound OM. And I saw the entire room suddenly fill with light, a golden, vibrating light. I was probably the only one to notice it. I said to myself, Well! Then I didnt give it any more thought, I forgot about the story. But as it happened, the experience recurred in two or three differ ent countries, with differ ent people, and every time there was the sound OM, I would suddenly see the place fill with that same light. So I understood. That sound contains the vibration of thousands and thousands of years of spiritual aspiration there is in it the entire aspiration of men towards the Supreme. And the power is automatically there, because the experience is there.
Its the same with my mantra. When I wanted to translate the end of my mantra, Glory to You, O Lord, into Sanskrit, I asked for Nolinis help. He brought his Sanskrit translation, and when he read it to me, I immediately saw that the power was therenot because Nolini put his power into it (!), God knows he had no int ention of giving me a mantra! But the power was there because my experience was there. We made a few adjustm ents and modifications, and thats the japa I do now I do it all the time, while sleeping, while walking, while eating, while working, all the time.1 And thats how a mantra has life: when it wells up all the time, spontaneously, like the cry of your beingthere is no need of effort or conc entration: its your natural cry. Then it has full power, it is alive. It must well up from within. No guru can give you that.
--
Why not? It doesnt occur to him [X] because hes used to sitting and writing on the ground. Its the same as if I thought it impossible to meditate unless I sat cross-legged and bolt upright! Fortunately, I lived with Sri Aurobindo, who never used to sit cross-legged. He told me right away that it was all a question of habitssubconscious habits. It has no importance whatsoever. And how well he explained: if a posture is necessary for you, it will come by itself. And its perfectly true, for instance, that when necessary, the body will suddenly sit up straightit comes spontaneously. As he said, the important thing is not the external frame but the inner experience, and if there is a physical necessity and your inner experience is entirely sincere, that physical necessity will come ALL BY ITSELF.2 This is something I am absolutely sure of. And he gave me his own example (I had mine, too) of certain things considered dangerous or bad, which we both did independ ently and spontaneously, and which were a great help to us! Consequ ently, all those stories of posture and so on are the petty mechanical bounds of the human mind.
It came to me while I was walking [for the japa]. I had a kind of vision of you squatting askew and writing. And I thought, But thats awful! Hell ruin his health!
--
Mother later clarified: "'Glory to You, O Lord' isn't MY mantra, it's something I ADDED to itmy mantra is something else altogether, that's not it. When I say that my mantra has the power of immortality, I mean the other, the one I don't speak of! I have never given the words.... You see, at the end of my walk, a kind of enthusiasm rises, and with that enthusiasm, the 'Glory to You' came to me, but it's part of the prayer I had written in Prayers and Meditations: 'Glory to You, O Lord, all-triumphant Supreme' etc. (it's a long prayer). It came back suddenly, and as it came back spontaneously, I kept it. Moreover, when Sri Aurobindo read this prayer in Prayers and Meditations, he told me it was very strong. So I added this phrase as a kind of tail to my japa. But 'Glory to You, O Lord' isn't my spontaneous mantrait came spontaneously, but it was something written very long ago. The two things are differ ent."
Such is the case, for example, of Anandamayi-M, who was said to be hysterical because of the strange gestures she made during her meditations, until it turned out that they were ritual asanas and mudras which she performed spontaneously.
0 1963-05-25, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I say this because Thon always announced the coming of the new world. He didnt speak of Supermind, he said: There shall be new heavens and a new earth. That was his explanation. So it may be that, originally, in the origin of the Catholic religion, they too had the idea that after forty days (it could also mean forty c enturies, maybe forty eons or forty ages), there would come the desc ent of the Holy Spirit in the form of flames that would enter those who are ready. I find this explanation more logical.
Of course, the bird, the white dove they speak of, could be the Universal. Maybe it would manifest openly as a result of that desc ent?
0 1963-05-29, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And in as much as the very cells of the body no longer feel their separateness (that is almost entirely gone, even in the sensation), then something is done (or takes place), but without any self-observation. Somewhere (gesture above), something knows, wills and acts; somewhere else, there is a certain number of things in a state of happy receptivity, and absolutely, extraordinarily passive, not interfering. And the less it observes, the better. It remains in an inner contemplation, or rather turned to the Heights (a Height that is everywhere, of course, not just above), a Height perfectly luminous, perfectly conscious, perfectly effective. And thats all that is needed.
The less the consciousness is turned to the outside, the less it perceives obstacles, resistancesall that appears more and more unreal, transi ent, extremely relative.
0 1963-06-03, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
He came to earth in America (thats already a sign), but his par ents are Indians. entirely conceived and formed, all nine months, in America. And born in America. He sp ent the first four or five months of his life in America.
His mother, before marrying, told me, I will have a child only when I want it and, I hope, in the way I want it. It was no accid ent.
0 1963-06-08, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
You see, when I had that experience of the pulsations of Love in April last year, I had the perception of the color, the psychological perception of the state I was in (how can I explain?), for instance, the quality of the vibration of Love (something that has absolutely nothing to do with earthly things). At the time, I was That, I was those vibrations, but I was fully aware of the quality of those vibrations, and remained so for monthsthis is completely differ ent! It was nothing but an action. NOTHING but an action. And an action, you know, in which the human body is less than an ant. Much less than an ant: an imperceptible point. Yet there seemed to be ONLY this body! As if this body alone were there and it were going through that. This body was a body it was THE body! And that point that comforting point of ecstasywas very small. Very small. But it was there, quite insist ent, very conscious, telling me, Dont interfere; leave it to me entirely, all is wellsee, all is well. Very small, very small. Yet it was my body: I tell you, my head still seems swollen!
Strange.
0 1963-06-15, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Ive received a letter from a friend in France who speaks at length of someone who has written three volumes entitled Gnosis.
Ohh!
--
He has written three volumes entitled Gnosis.
Quite an ambition.
--
And all at once, it came so clearly, as though the Lord Himself were arranging something, and it was translated into, Give him a bath of the Lord. You understand, to make an atmosphere (no need to speak, no need for words), an atmosphere that is a bath of the Lord. So that all those who enter the atmosphere automatically enter the bath of the Lord. It was so lovely! And so simple, so smiling, nothing showy, no big words: something very simple and natural. So, early in the morning, I w ent to the room over there; I had many people to see beforehand, a host of people who came to see me in the morning, but nevertheless early in the morning I had already started preparing my bath of the Lord! I was finished seeing people about an hour before Nehrus arrival, so I stayed in the room, preparing the bath. It was very charming.
He may have felt something they are very thick-skinned, you know, necessarily so: overworked, full of self-conceit, naturally, and convinced that they know everything and can do everything (and unfortunately they can do a lot), so the whole of life is organized so as to BLOCK all inner receptivity.
--
No. And then, you see, he takes Gandhis asceticism for spiritual lifealways the same mistake! Theres no way to pull them out of it. Unfortunately, the entire world has caught the same idea.
Then when there was that Cripps proposal,5 I believe it was Nehru (or Gandhi, I dont remember which of the two) who said, He has withdrawn from political life, why is he meddling! Its none of his business. They never forgave him. That is to say, completely obtuse, unable to understand that one can have a knowledge higher than practical knowledge.
--
But the Chinese are fairly receptive, in spite of their Communism. They are receptive to an idea of human goodwill, in the sense that they think their political organization is the best from a human point of view, and therefore would like the whole world to adopt itthere is a sincerity in their conviction, they believe its the best way of life. They are not entirely ill-willed. And they are very intellig ent.
At any rate, they had the power to do whatever they liked [last October, at the defenseless northern borders of India], yet they did nothing.
--
And Nehru, you see (thats what Pavitra told me yesterday, he w ent to the town hall to listen to Nehrus speech), Nehru is an out-and-out social democrat who believes that the ideal organization for mankind, instead of only an elite being able to progress, is that the entire masses should progress (as if they wanted to! but anyway). Its an ideaeveryone has his own ideas. But then it seems that when the Chinese attacked, it was a viol ent blow to his conviction: he thought it impossible that the Chinese would do such a thing (!) He was very deeply shattered.
Naturally, they see no farther than the tips of their noses, and then they are surprised when circumstances (laughing) dont agree!
--
I didnt know them (I know them, but I dont know them!), but I understood who the person was just from the way his face reacted to the atmosphere of the place! It was very funny. Two of them, in particular, when they came in, I thought, Oh, it must be so and so, and the other, Oh, this is certainly so and so, merely from the reaction on their faces the contortion of their features on entering the bath! But in all that crowd there was one man, a sturdy fellow, in a military uniformonly onewhose face (whats the word in French?) became dignified. A sense of dignity suddenly came over his face. He was the chief of the Madras police (!)
Only one.
0 1963-06-26a, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Satprem has entire pages written and rewritten in Sanskrit by Mother.
***
0 1963-06-29, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There is a boat being built (the symbol of the yoga, obviously), its made entirely of pink clay, and what a pink! A boat of pink clay. I was there with Sri Aurobindoa very agile Sri Aurobindo who was going about supervising the construction; I too was going up and down with extreme ease.
Clay.
--
But clay, that was something really newand lovely! Pink. Pink, a warm, golden pink. They were cutting out [of the clay] rooms, stairways, ship decks and funnels, captains cabins. Sri Aurobindo himself is as he was, but more with a harmony of form: very, very broad here (in the chest), broad and solid. And very agile: he comes and goes, sits down, gets up, always with great majesty. His color is a sort of golden bronze, a color like the coagulation of his supram ental gold, of his golden supram ental being; as if it were very conc entrated and coagulated to fashion his appearance; and it doesnt reflect light: it seems as if lit from within (but it doesnt radiate), and it doesnt cast any shadows. But perfectly natural, it doesnt surprise you, the most natural thing in the world: thats the way he is. Ageless; his hair has the same color as his body: he has hair, but you cant say if its hair, its the same color; the eyes too: a golden look. Yet its perfectly natural, nothing surprising. He sits down just as he used to, with his leg as he used to put it [the right leg in front], and at the same time, when he gets up, he is agile: he comes and goes. Then when he w ent out of the house (he had told me he would have to go, he had an appointm ent with someone: he had promised to see two people, he had to go), he w ent out into a big garden, and down to the boatwhich wasnt exactly a boat, it was a flat boatand he had to go to the captains cabin (he had to see the captain about some work), but it was with that boat that he was returning to his room elsewherehe has a room elsewhere. Then after a while I thought, Ill follow him so I can see. So I followed him; as long as I saw him in front of me I followed him. And when I came to the boat, I saw it was entirely built out of pink clay! Some workmen were working thereadmirable workmen. So Sri Aurobindo w ent down quite naturally, down into the ship under construction, without (I dont think there were any stairs), and I followed him down. Then I saw him enter the captains room; as he had told me he had some work to do, I thought (laughing), I dont want to meddle in others business! Ill go back home (and I did well, I was already late in waking up!), Ill go back home. And I saw one of the workmen leaving (as Sri Aurobindo had come back to the ship, they stopped the work). He was leaving. I called him, but he didnt know my language or any of the languages I know; so I called him in thought and asked him to pull me up, as I was below and there was a sheer wall of slippery clay. Then he smiled and with his head he said, I certainly dont mind helping you, but it isnt necessary! You can climb up all by yourself. And indeed he held out his hand, I took it (I only touched him slightly), and climbed up all by myself without the slightest difficulty I was weightless! I didnt have to pull at his hand, he didnt pull me up. And as soon as I was up, I w ent back home I woke up and found myself in my bed five minutes later than my usual time.
But what struck me was the clayit means something very material, doesnt it? And pink! A pink, oh, lovely! A golden pink.
0 1963-07-03, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(This conversation took place a few days after the new Pope, Paul VI, was enthroned. Mother had asked Satprem to erase the recording, except for a few fragm ents, but he thought it fit to retain at least its integral transcription.)
Here, your flowers [roses]. A magnific ent color.
--
Those are old ideas the old ideas of two powers opposing each other: the power of Good and the power of Evil, the battle between the two, which of the two will have the last word. There was a time when children were entertained with such stories. Theyre just childrens stories.
Some people (or if you like, some beings, or forces, or consciousnesses) in order to progress need to give themselves, to merge, and in total self-annihilation, they attain Realization; for others the path is diametrically opposite: its a growth, a domination, an expansion which assumes fantastic proportions until the separation disappearsit can no longer exist.
--
Another time, when I was younger, I was in Italy, in Venice, painting in a corner of St. Marks Cathedral (a marvelous place of great beauty), and I happened to be sitting right next to a confessional. One day, as I sat there painting, I saw the priest arrive and enter the confessional that man completely black, tall, thin, the very face of wickedness and hardness: a pitiless wickedness. He closeted himself in there. After a short while there came a rather young woman, perhaps thirty years old, g entle, very sweetnot intellig ent but very sweet entirely dressed in black. She entered the box (he was already shut in and could no longer be seen), and they spoke through a grille. I should add that its far more medieval than in France, it was really it was almost theatrical. She knelt down there, I saw her long gown flowing out, and she was speaking. (I couldnt hear, she was whispering; besides, both of them spoke in Italian, although I understand Italian.) The voices were barely audible, there was no sound. Then all at once, I heard the woman sobbing (she was sobbing in spasms), and it w ent on till suddenlya collapse: she crumpled in a heap on the floor. Then that man opened the door, shoving aside her body with the door and he strode away without a backward glance. I was young, you know, and if I could have, I would have killed him. What he had just done was monstrous. And he was going away it was a chunk of steel that walked out.
Incid ents of that sort have left me with a peculiar impression. The stories of the Inquisition had already given me a suffici ent Now, of course, youve heard what I told you [the story of the Asura], and thats really my way of seeing the thing. But there was a time when I might have said, No religion has done more evil in the world than this one.
0 1963-07-06, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
For some time (I mean a year or maybe a year and a half), I have quite often been seeing some very ugly faces pass before me, and also all kinds of queer objectsthings I didnt use to see formerly. I had seen ugly beings only once, when I was with Sri Aurobindo: during the day I caught a sort of influenza (it was more vital than physical), because I had attended and, so to say, presided over the festival of arms2 of the workers here. And they threw all their woes on me, asking to be protected, relieved and so onthere is a sort of spontaneous sincerity in those people, and I answered straightforwardly, without protecting myself. I didnt even think for a minute of protecting myself: I answered all of them (inwardly, of course). I came back inside. In the night, I had a frightful fever. But in the midst of that fever I was entirely conscious; I had the fever people call delirium, and I saw what delirium is: there were hordes of beings from the most material vital rushing at me with such violence! It was a real battle against an army of beings from the lowest, most material and also most viol ent vitalthey came in waves and I kept throwing them back (which probably people are unable to do): one wave and I threw them back, another wave and I threw them back, and so on the whole night long. I had a fantastic fever. Sri Aurobindo was there, sitting beside my bed, and I told him, Well, thats what gives what people call delirium. It attacks the cerebral region, its really a frightful battle. The next morning, I had an influenza that looked like typhoid fever I knew where it was coming from, I had seen it, I saw the whole thing, you understand.
It happened once and then it was over: quite naturally the atmosphere gave protection. This time it had the same character, in the sense that twisted faces, very base instincts, very ugly things come and entER, which means there must be some work going on on that level, and for it to be done some contact is necessary (naturally when I have my white atmosphere around me, try as they may, they cannot touch it), but this time they entered. Well, I peered at the thing (laughing), not without some curiosity. (The first times, I was surprised, I thought, Why am I starting to see such ugly things! But then I soon understood it was because a work had to be done.) I peer at the thing with some curiosity, and I see I just have to do this (gesture like the flick of a feather duster), simply a little effortless movem ent and prrt! off it runs with fantastic speed.
But some of the faces I saw had come with the int ention of making certain suggestions I saw that (I dont know what their suggestions were, it didnt interest me and I kept sweeping it all away, so it w ent away). I didnt attach any importance to it, except that I kept answering in the same way (the feather duster), and I thought, This must be putting order somewhere! But today, N. read me a letter and told me the story of a boy who was herea very nice boy who worked well and who suddenly was overcome by disquiet and fear and got so ill at ease that finally he said, My family is calling me, they want me, I must go. Then (I dont know when it happened, it was a while ago), he wrote that some time after he came back home (I dont recall the details), he came to know that a magician was regularly doing black magic against him (he was seeing ugly faces, incense burning, all kinds of odd little gestureshe tells the whole story in his letter and it affected him very much), and that the magician (who I believe was more or less connected with the family!) was doing that regularly to make him leave the Ashram. Then he w ent to see the magician, or rather someone w ent to see the magician and told him, The boy is back now, you need not continue, he is here, so there is no more reason to And from that mom ent on, everything immediately disappeared: his feeling of disquiet and all his visions. Anyway, it was clear proof that the magicians work had put him in that state, and that as soon as the magician stopped his work, everything ceased.
--
But it isnt total Victory, no. It isnt the power of transformation. The other day, I told you, I think, that one of my pres ent activities consisted of a sort of conscious conc entration on one person or another, one thing or another, to obtain the desired result. For years on end, the Will and Force acted from above, and the outer conscious being [of Mother] wasnt concerned with anything further, knowing that it would only make things more complicated instead of helping them, and that the Force left to itself, directly under the supreme Impulsion, worked things out far better and far more accurately. But over these last months, there have come a will and a tendency to make the material being [of Mother] participate consciously in the details of execution. It has a kind of passive obedience, and so, once that was willed [the need for Mothers material interv ention], it began to happen. There was a case rec ently, with a very good friend of the Ashram, a man with an important position who has been very, very useful. He had to be operated on (I wont tell the whole story, it would be too long); we received two or three wires a day, I followed the thing step by step. There was a very powerful force of destructionit was a very grim battle and there was a will to keep him, because in this body he had been very useful, he was still very useful and could still be very useful. He had a great faith, a great trust, and he was conscious (his consciousness was very suffici ently developed: I saw him constantly and constantly he came to me). He fell into a butchers hands; anyway, it was a wretched thing. Still, even though everyone expected him to leave his body, he held on and was constantly saying (we were kept informed by his son) and feeling that it was I who was keeping him alive. I could even see what they should have done and constantly I s ent the formation, the thought, But THIS is what should be done, insist ently. Finally they caught my thought, but I think (I cant say, I dont know the details, the small material details), I think probably they didnt do exactly what they should have thats why I say they must have been butchers. Thus they performed three operations in a row, and after undergoing all that, he came to me (before also he used to come very oft enthey said he was drowsy all the time, in a semi-coma, but thats not it: he was living inwardly), he came to me, totally conscious as usual, but he said, I am afraid my body is irretrievably ruined, and if I survive now, instead of this body being a help and a tool of work, it will be a hindrance, an impedim ent, a source of difficulty, so I have come to ask to be freed I prefer to enter a new body. I answered immediately, But as you are, you are useful, very useful; the position you occupy makes you very useful; you are totally conscious; it would be good if you could recover. He listened, again insisted a little, I too insisted, and then he left.
The next morning, he was much better. I was hoping he had decided to stay, but we were without news for about tw enty-four hours, till suddenly we were told he had stopped breathing and was being given oxygen. And then he left.
0 1963-07-10, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Thats what I saw when I spoke to you the other day about what I called a bath of the Lord. The atmosphere was full, really chockfull of a Presence (you cant even call it a vibration, its much more than a vibration: its a Presence), but when people enter it, they dont feel anything! Or if they do, they dont even understand, it doesnt correspond to anything in their consciousness. But if I conc entrate a particular vibration on their consciousness, I bring them into contact with it. And all of a sudden they feel something, with the impression that its a new thingits nothing new! Whats new is their capacity to perceive the thing.
In a general way, thats how it works: the Lord is everywhere, His vibration is everywhere, but whats new is the capacity to feel Him or be conscious of Him. From all eternity He has been there, for all eternity He shall be there.
0 1963-07-13, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I must now bring myself to write to you. With regret and sadness, I confess, since it is to inform you that we do not think it possible to publish your book Sri Aurobindo or the Adv enture of Consciousness. I confess that what prev ented me from writing to you earlier is not so much the fear of causing you pain, for you are able to rise above the shock such news cannot but cause, as the fact that I knew it would be impossible to explain our reasons to you. Frankly, we cannot really understand this book. And how to explain the reasons for not understanding something? As for me, I often had the feeling of passing from one plane to another, from the level of fact to that of conjecture, from the level of logic (with defined terms as a starting point) to that of presupposition (within a coherence unconnected with the knowledge you offer). I know that all this is disputable. I also know or guess that behind those pages lies an entire lived experience, but one doesnt feel the reader can participate in it. For what reason? Once again, I cannot say. The readers blindness, quite possibly. The minds limitation, too. But a book must build a bridge, pierce the screen, and there are doubtless cases in which doing so no longer depends on the author. I must therefore return this manuscript to you.
(signed: P.A.L.)
0 1963-07-17, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It requires no preparation, it isnt something you have to attain: its ALWAYS there. Only, it also stems from the fact that I am not here (thats so clear, so clear, it needs no reflection or observation, its such a well-established fact) I am not here for anything, anything whatsoever, any satisfaction of any sort, on any level, any pointnone of that exists any more, that has no more reality, no more existence. The only thing I still FEEL is a sort of not an aspiration, not a will, not an adherence or enthusiasm, but something that is maybe its more like a power: to do the Lords Work. At the same time, I feel the Lord you understand, He isnt in front of me or outside of me! Thats not it, He is everywhere and He is everywhere and I am everywhere with Him. But what holds these cells together in a perman ent form is that something which is at once the will and power (and something more than both) to do the Lords work. It contains something which probably is translated in peoples consciousnesses as Bliss, Ananda (I must say its an aspect of the problem I am not concerned with). Something like the intensity of a superlove as yet unmanifestits impossible to say.
Some time ago I made a discovery of that kind: someone asked me if there was any difference between Ananda and Love; I said, No. Then he said to me, But then how is it that some people feel Ananda while others feel Love? I answered him, Yes! Those who feel Ananda are those who like to receive, who have the capacity to receive, and those who feel Love are those who have the capacity to give. But its the same thing: you receive it as Ananda, you give it as Love.
0 1963-07-20, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I had decided I would study the thing very carefully, absolutely objectively, in order to be surebecause I had around me all the waves of all the impressions, well-disposed as well as ill-disposed, and I found all that whirl ridiculous. I conducted my observation in a most sci entific and objective way: the whole, entire effect is purely m ental. The whole whirlm ental.
There you have it.
--
No, its no fun. Its interesting only for someone who finds interest in EVERYTHING, to whom EVERYTHING is interesting, that is to say, who has the sort of will for perfection that neglects no detailo therwise, it isnt As soon as you enter the m ental realm, of course, the mind says, Ah, no! No, its a waste of time. It isnt, but the mind regards all that as twaddle.
(silence)
--
It happens especially during daytime (between 12:30 and 1 oclocknot for long, a few minutes, I cant say; and between 5:30 and 6). At night its not the same, because (I think Ive told you already) as soon as I stretch out, the whole body is like a prayer. Its more than an aspiration, its an intense need: Lord, take hold of me entIRELY! So there may be nothing but You, and that always brings about a result [the trance]which may last more or less long, until (how can I put it?) the mom ent agreed upon comes! Then when I wake up, or rather when the body emerges from that state, it knows its agreed upon, it doesnt have that anxiety. I dont know how to explain. In terms of consciousness its almost like a child: very simple, very simple. No complications, no complications whatever, very simple: to do what is to be done in the proper way while expressing the supreme Will. That is, to bring as little mixture as possible to the supreme Will (its not a question of Will: the Movem ent, the Vibration), as little mixture or distortion or deterioration as possible to the Vibrationwe always translate into words that are too intellectual.
But the body is docile, full of goodwill. Only I find its a little bit of a whiner (that must be particular to this one, I am sure other bodies are differ ent), it isnt spontaneously joyful. Not that it complains, not at all, but Perhaps its due to that sort of conc entration of Force of progressits not a blissful satisfaction, far from it. Its a long time since it stopped enjoying ordinary satisfactions, like the sense of taste, of smell: it doesnt enjoy any of thatit is conscious, very conscious, it can discern things very clearly, but in an entirely objective way, without deriving any pleasure from them.
Yet it has a spontaneous tendency to find itself incapable; and it receives the same answer all the time: Thats still the ego. That happens so often, it says to the Lord, Look how incapable I am of doing what You want, and pat comes the answer, direct, in a flash: Dont bother about that, its not your business! Naturally, I put it into words to express myself, but it isnt words, its only sensationsnot even sensations: vibrations.
--
So all that must be having repercussions on the others, like Pavitra, when he told me the other day he was seeking me up above and could no longer find me! This very down-to-earth state (we can really call it down-to-earth), this very down-to-earth state of things may also create not an increased heaviness (because God knows it isnt heavy! Its so luminous, vibrant, luminous, so vibrant, vibrant), thats not it, but its really at ground level. At ground level. It has none of the flights and enthusiasms of m ental things, visions and all that. So it appears a little monotonous and very much at ground level.
Yes, but we dont have the sense of participating in something. You are conscious, while were not.
0 1963-07-27, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
If we follow that (Mother draws a great curve towards the future), he foresaw that one day the earth would be a supram ental creation the entire earth entirely changed. That means a long, long way ahead. In other words, later, among the supram ental race, they will say, Thats all very well, but its only the beginning. Now, the entire earth has to become a supram ental manifestation. Just as from m ental man the supram ental being was born, so also from the supram ental being will be born the powers that will transform the earth.
Do you see it?! Its interesting.
0 1963-07-31, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But then, as I had worked hard for the elimination, the battle was quite formidablewhen it exceeds a certain measure, the heart has trouble, and then I need to rest. Thats how it happened. But it was so clear, so obvious! And the entire process was SEEN from the beginning, every single step of it, its a marvel! A marvel of consciousness, of measure, of dosage, to allow the purification and transformation to take place without disrupting the balance, so that dissolution does not occur. Its based on the capacity to endure and withstand (naturally, if the body were unable to endure, that work couldnt be done).
And now the body KNOWS (in the beginning it didnt, it thought it was attacks from the outside, adverse forces; and it can always be explained like that, it was true in a certain way, but it wasnt the true truth, the deepest truth), now the body KNOWS where it all comes from, and its so marvelous! A marvel of wisdom. It puts everything in its place, it makes you REALIZE that all that play of the adverse forces is a way of seeing things (a necessary way at a given time, maybeby necessary, I mean practical), but its still an illusion; illnesses are a necessary way of seeing things to enable you to resist properly, to fight properly, but its still an illusion. And now, the BODY itself knows all thisas long as it was only the mind that knew it, it was a remote notion in the realm of ideas, but now the body itself knows it. And it is full not only of goodwill but also of an infinite gratitudeit always wonders (thats its first movem ent), Do I have the capacity? And it always gets the same answer, It isnt YOUR capacity. Will I have the strength?It isnt YOUR strength. Even that sense of infirmity disappears in the joy of infinite gratitude the thing is done with such goodness, such insight, such thoughtfulness, such care to maintain, as far as possible, a progressive balance.
--
And I was told something this morning (I think it was this morning, or in the night, I dont remember); it was said to the body, not to me. The body was told that it would go on till complete purification, and that AT THAT POINT it will have the choice between continuing its work or You see, once it has attained complete purification from the cellular point of view (not what people call physical purity, thats not it), from the point of view of the divine Influence, which means that each cell will be under the exclusive influence of the Supreme (thats the work under way now), the body was told that that work would be done, and once it was completed, the body ITSELF, entirely under the Supremes influence, would decide whether it wants to continue or be dissolved. It was very interesting, because dissolution means a scattering, but to scatter (thats easy to understand) is a way to SPREAD the consciousness over a very large area. So the cells will be given the choice either to act in that way (gesture of diffusion) or to act in agglomeration (Mother makes a fist).
(silence)
0 1963-08-07, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I saw in France a patch of garden: it was surrounded by walls, and the land had belonged to someone who took great care of it and had planted flowers in it. It was fairly large, but completely enclosed. That person died. It was in southern France. He died and no one (there were no heirs), no one looked after the garden: it was closed and stayed that way. I saw that garden I dont remember now, but certainly more than five years afterwards. It probably happened that the lock broke little by little and came loose; I pushed the door open and entered. Ive never seen anything more beautiful! There wer ent any paths any more, there was no order any more, nothing but confusion but what confusion! Ive never seen anything more beautiful. I stood there in a sort of ecstasy. There is a book (I think its Le Paradou by Zola) in which there is a description of a fairy placeit was just like that: all the flowers and plants entangled, in an absolutely disorderly growth, but with a harmony of another type, a much vaster, much stronger harmony.
It was extraordinarily beautiful.
0 1963-08-21, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
(Regarding an old "Playground Talk," of January 4, 1951, in which Mother said that one of the ess ential conditions for transformation is an awareness of the inner dimensions: "It's a total reversal of consciousness, which can be compared to what happens to light when it goes through a prism. Or else it's as if you turned a ball inside out, which can be done only in the fourth dimension. You emerge from the ordinary consciousness of the third dimension to enter the higher consciousness of the fourth dimension, and then an infinite number of dimensions. This is the indispensable starting point.")
Thats what I had told you already: the whole basis of the yogic effort is changed now. Formerly, the work was based precisely on that knowledge of inner dimensions I cant recapture that any more, I see it as completely outside me.1
--
Every time an experience of that kind occurs, the entire vision of things and of the relationship between things is changed (gesture of reversal). Even from a quite practical viewpoint. You see, Life is a sort of chessboard on which all the pawns are arranged according to certain inner laws, and every time it all changes: everything changes, the chessboard changes, the pawns change, the types of organization change. Also the inner quality of the pawnsvery much so.
For instance, these last few days I had a whole vision of X, of what he repres ents, the people around him, his relationship with the Ashramall that entirely changed. Every elem ent took a new place in relation to all the others. And I have nothing to do with it, I dont try to understand, I dont try to see, nothing: the thing is simply shown to me. Like pictures that are shown to me. Each thing has its own special flavor, its own special color, its own special quality and its own special relationship with the restall the relationships are differ ent.
Its growing very PRECISE, very minute, very sharp, not floating: very accurate to the last detail. And with a great simplicity.
As though the entanglem ent of forces, of consciousnesses and movem ents grew clearer and clearer, more and more complete, very, very precise. And very simple too.
Very simple.
0 1963-08-24, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I told you that the only process Ive known, and which recurred several times in my life, is to renounce an error. Something you believe to be truewhich probably was true for a timeon which you partly base your action, but which, in actuality, was only one opinion. You thought it was a truthful finding with all its logical consequences, and your action (part of your action) was based on it, so that everything proceeded from it automatically. Till suddenly an experience, a circumstance or an intuition warns you that your finding isnt so true as it appeared to be (!) Then there is a whole period of observation and study (sometimes too it comes as a revelation, a massive proof), and then its not just your idea or false knowledge that needs to be changed, but also all its consequences, perhaps an entire way of acting on a particular point. At that mom ent, you get a sort of sensation, something that feels like a sensation of renunciation; that is to say, you have to undo a whole collection of things you had built. Sometimes its quite considerable, sometimes a very small thing, but the experience is the same: the movem ent of a force, a dissolving power, and the resistance of all that must be dissolved, all the past habit. It is the contact of the movem ent of dissolution with the corresponding resistance that probably translates in the ordinary human consciousness as the sense of renunciation.
I saw that very rec ently; its something insignificant, the circumstances are completely unimportant in themselves (its only the study of the whole that makes it interesting). Its the only phenomenon that has recurred several times in my life and which for that reason I know well. And as the being progresses, the power of dissolution increases, becomes more and more immediate, and the resistance lessens. But I remember the time when the resistances were at their highest (more than half a c entury ago), and it never worked in any other way: it was always something outside menot outside my consciousness but outside my will something that resists the will. I never had the feeling I had to renounce things but I felt as if I had to exert a pressure on them to dissolve them. Whereas now, the farther I go, the more imperceptible the pressure becomes, its immediate: as soon as the Force that comes to dissolve a collection of things manifests, theres no resistance, everything gets dissolved; on the contrary, theres hardly any sense of liberation theres something that is amused every time and says, Ah, again! How many times you limit yourself. How many times you think youre constantly moving on, smoothly, without stopping, and how many times you set a little limit to your action (it isnt a big limit because its a very little thing within an immense whole, but its a limit nonetheless). And then when the Force acts to dissolve the limit, at first you feel liberated, you feel a joy; but now its not even like that any more: there is a smile. Because its not a sense of liberationyou very simply remove a stone that stands in your way.
--
I have reached this conclusion: in principle, what gives rapture is the awareness of and union with the Divine (thats the principle), therefore the awareness of and union with the Divine, whether in the world as it is or in the building of a future world, must be the samein principle. Thats what I keep saying to myself all the time: How is it that you dont have that rapture? I do have it: at the time when the whole consciousness is c entered in the union, whenever that is, in the midst of any activity, along with that movem ent of conc entration of the consciousness on the union comes rapture. But I must admit it disappears when I am in that its a world of work, but a very chaotic world, in which I act on everything around meand necessarily I have to receive whats around me in order to act on it. I have reached a state in which all that I receive, even the things considered the most painful, leave me absolutely still and indiffer entindiffer ent, not an inactive indifference: no painful reaction of any kind, absolutely neutral (gesture turned to the Eternal), a perfect equanimity. But within that equanimity, there is a precise knowledge of the thing to be done, the words to be said or written, the decision to be made, anyway all that action involves. All that takes place in a state of perfect neutrality, with a sense of the Power at the same time: the Power goes through me, the Power acts, and neutrality stays but theres no rapture. I dont have the enthusiasm, the joy and plenitude of action, not at all.
And I must say that the state of consciousness that rapture gives would be dangerous in the pres ent state of the world. Because it has almost absolute reactions I can see that that state of rapture has an OVERWHELMING power. But I insist on the word overwhelming, in the sense that its intolerant of, or intolerable to (yes, intolerable to) all thats unlike it! Its the same thing, or almost (not quite the same but almost), as supreme divine Love: the vibration of that ecstasy or rapture is a first hint of the vibration of divine Love, and thats absolutely yes, there is no other word, intolerant, in the sense that it doesnt brook the presence of anything contrary to it.
So that would have frightening results for the ordinary consciousness. I can see that very well, because at times that Power comes the Power comes and you feel as if everything is about to explode. Because it can tolerate only union, it can tolerate only an accepting responsereceiving and accepting. And not from any arbitrary will: from the VERY FACT of its existence, an all-powerful existenceall-powerful not in the way man understands allpowerfullness: really an all-powerfulness. That is, entirely, totally and exclusively existing. It contains everything, but what is contrary to its vibration is forced to change, you see, since nothing can disappear; but then that immediate, brutal, so to say, and absolute change is, in the world as it is, a catastrophe.
This is the answer I received to my problem.
--
At times For the body its a constant worka constant laborvery tiny, of every instant, an unceasing effort, with, so to say, an imperceptible result (externally at any rate, quite nonexist ent), so for someone who doesnt have my consciousness, its perfectly obvious that the body appears to wear out and age, to be slowly heading for decomposition: thats in everyones atmosphere and consciousness (Mother laughs), its the kind of appreciation and vibration thats being thrown all the time on this poor body, which besides is quite conscious of its infirmityit doesnt entertain any illusions! But that quiet, peaceful, but UNCEASING endurance in the effort of transformation makes it sometimes yearn for a little ecstasynot as an abolition or annihilation, not at all, but it seems to be saying, Oh, Lord, I beg you, let me be You in all tranquillity. In fact, thats its prayer every evening when people are supposed to leave it in peace (unfortunately they leave it in peace physically, but m entally they dont). But that I could cut off, I learned to cut off long, long ago, I could cut off, but something, I mean somewhere, someone doesnt approve! (Mother laughs) Obviously what the Someone the great Someonewants to see realized is perfect peace, perfect rest, and joy, a passive joy (not too active; a passive joy is enough), a passive, constant joy, WITHOUT forsaking the work. In other words, the individual experience isnt regarded as all-importantvery far from it: the help given to the whole, the leaven which makes the whole rise, is AT LEAST equally important. Ultimately, thats probably the major reason for persisting in this body.
Nothing inside asks any questions, there are no problems there; all the problems I am talking about are posed by the body, for the body; otherwise, inside, everything is perfect, everything is exactly as it should be. And totally so: what people call good, what they call evil, the beautiful, the ugly, the all that is a small immensity (not a big immensity), a small immensity that is moving more and more towards a progressive realization thats the correct phrasewithin an integral Consciousness which integrally (how should I put it?) enjoys, or I could say, feels the plenitude of what He doesdoes, is and so forth (its all the same thing). But this poor body
0 1963-08-28, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Those people are entirely vulnerable (by vulnerable, I mean defenseless) to spiritual force. The day when it manifests physically, there will be a debacle.
Even here, with these people who through their tradition are so accustomed to the Power, the true spiritual Power, when it just manifests a little, they they tremble all over. But there they deny it which means they are completely defenseless.
0 1963-08-31, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I dont know if I can make myself understood, but for two days I was engrossed in that work of establishing an absolutely true ratiowhich in fact can be true only in a complete simplicity and complete sincerity. I saw the power that acts in the words and the power that acts without words, and the proportion between the two powers must be exact, entirely correct, to have a complete sincerity. You follow?
It was a very interesting worknot intellectual at all, a completely material work, down here, very, very practical. For example, what you write to someone should exactly correspond to the quality and quantity of the Powerwhich acts DIRECTLY, not through the mind. It was very interesting, a very painstaking work. And it was the keyone of the keys to perfect sincerity.
--
And I see very well that if we let ourselves be carried along instead of having that absurd resistance of habit, if we let ourselves be carried along, there would come a sort of very (same round, global gesture) very soft thing, in the sense of smooth, very soft, very complete, very living, and with a very intimate perception of things. Along with a knowledge that becomes if there wer ent that mixture of the old habit, it would be really extraordinary: the perception of things not as if they were outside, but an INTIMATE perception. When someone enters the room, for instance, or when the clock is about to strike, you know it just (I cant say a second, its a thousandth of a second), just before it takes place materially; which gives you the feeling of a foreknowledge, but its not that! Its not a foreknowledge, its It belongs to the realm of sensation, but its other senses. The FOREMOST feeling you get is one of intimacy, that is to say, there is no more distance, no more difference, no more seer and thing seen; yet, there is in it what corresponds to vision, hearing, sensation, all the perceptions, taste, smell and all of that.
There is here a very concrete change from before, very perceptible.
--
It takes time simply because of the resistance of the old habits. If we could always let ourselves be carried along, things would go much fastermuch faster. All the time, a hundred times a day (more than that!), I tell myself, Why are you thinking of this? Why are you thinking of that? For example, if I have to answer someone (not always in writing, it can be an [occult] work, to organize something), the Force acts quite naturally, smoothly, without any resistance; then suddenly thought comes into the picture and tries to interfere (I catch it every time and I stop it every time; but its too often!), and all the old habit returns. That need to translate things into thoughts, to give them clear expression And then you hinder the entire process.
Oh, to let oneself live simply, simply, without complications.
0 1963-09-07, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But then, once you are here on this earth and you have to go to the end, even if the end is nothingness, you go to the end and its just as well to do so as best you can, that is to say, to your fullest satisfaction. I happened to have some philosophical curiosity and to study all kinds of problems, and I came upon Sri Aurobindos teaching, and what he taught (I would say revealed, but not to a materialist) is by far, among the systems men have formulated, the most satisfying FOR ME, the most complete, and what answers the most satisfactorily all the questions that can be asked; it is the one that helps me the most in life to have the feeling that life is worth living. Consequ ently, I try to conform entirely to his teaching and to live it integrally in order to live as best I can for me. I dont mind at all if others dont believe in itwhether they believe in it or not is all the same to me; I dont need the support of others conviction, its enough if I am myself satisfied.
Well, theres no reply to that.
0 1963-09-18, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
It will break and dissolve a year later. As Mother will explain to Satprem later, the "transition" consisted in removing Satprem's entire vital being (which normally causes one to die) in small doses.
It is the same experience as that of the two "rooms," one within the other, or the two "rivers," now muddy and now crystal clear.
0 1963-09-25, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The thing is new to me. Thats what I told you the other day: first an experience, but an experience something that takes HOLD of the entire being, the entire body, everything, everything, like this (grasping gesture) and keeps you in its hold. And it works. It works everywhere in the cells: absolutely everywhere, in the consciousness, in the sensation, in the cells. Then it settles, as if passing through a very fine sieve, and it falls back to the other sideas words. But not always arranged in s entences (its very odd): two words here, three words there (Mother seems to show patches of color here and there). Then I keep very still, I dont stirabove all I dont think, dont stirsilence. Then, little by little, the words start a dance, and when they form a reasonably coher ent s entence, I write it down. But generally it isnt final. If I wait a little longer (even while doing something else), after a time it comes: a s entence that has a far more logical and striking existence. And if I wait still longer, it becomes more precise, until finally it comes with a feeling, Now this is it. Thats what happened with the English note: Now this is it. Good, so I write it down.
I never had that before. Everything had to fall sil ent (I mean even the most active and material outer mind), I had to get into the habit, when my experience comes, of not stirringnot stirring, nothing stirring, everything like this (gesture in suspense), waiting.
0 1963-09-28, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Do you remember Savitris debate with Death [The Debate of Love and Death]? According to it, Sri Aurobindo seems to be saying that Disorder arose when Life entered Matter.
(Mother leafs through her thick translation notebook1)
--
And so on, a whole passage. And he seems to imply that its when Life entered inert Matter that an ignorant Power what I read at the beginning:
An ignorant Power took charge and seemed his Will
--
It would seem to legitimize or justify those who want to escape entirely from the earths atmosphere. The idea would be that the earth is a special experim ent of the Supreme in His universe; and those who are not too keen on that experim ent (!) prefer to get out of it (to say things somewhat offhandedly).
The difference is this: In one case, the purpose of the earth is a conc entration of the Work (which means it can be done more rapidly, consciously and perfectly here), and so there is a serious reason to stay on and do it. In the other case, its just one experim ent amidst thousands or millions of others; and if that experim ent doesnt particularly appeal to you, to want to get out of it is legitimate.
0 1963-10-03, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
If divine Love were to descend first, before divine Truth, certain beings with a special power or receptivity might draw it into themselves, personally, and then all those wrong impulses might occur.1 But if this divine Love descends only in the Truth, in the Truth-Consciousness, it will enter someone only if that person is ready to receive it. Without a preparation of Truth, there might occur a very powerful attraction of elem ents unable to keep that Love in its purity; whereas if the preparation of Truth has been done, with that preparation, It will CHOOSE, in order to manifest, the persons, the individualities, who are ready.
***
--
I hav ent finished, I have no time left to work, thats the nuisance! I have so much work in the afternoon I dont call it work, its being busy with people to see, letters hosts of letters! And the entire organization: everything is in a terrible confusion. I should finish seeing people at four and take up my translation till fivethey leave at ten to five! So I have no time left for anything. One day out of four I get some translation done, so its going very slowly.
Ill have to change something in the organization againit goes wrong very quickly.
--
But before that, when the white square fringed with red entered (it took form first, you see; it seemed to take form between us), it took form and then something eased in youdid you feel a relaxation?
(Satprem nods his head silence)
0 1963-10-05, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
On the way, the same thing happened again: I w ent the usual wayplop! cut off, nothing left, I cant get through; I come back, start another wayplop! cut off, I cant get through. Yet I kept going up (how, I dont know). Then I reached a sort of square terrace-balcony, perfectly square, and ALL its doors were closed. There was no way of going farther: all the doors were closed. Then I see water rising, rising, rising in the entIRE building, except the places where the doors were closed. Downstairs (I dont know, I was very high up, maybe on the fourth or fifth floor) the doors were closed, so naturally water could not get in. All the courtyards (large, immense courtyards) were turned into swimming pools. What water! I kept watching it, admiring it; I said to myself, What wonderful water! So clear, so clear, clearer than any I ever saw. Water that was I cant say, it was transpar ent like like purity itself, it was marvelous. It was rising and rising and rising. I saw in one of the courtyards on my left (a very large courtyard: it had become an immense swimming pool!), I saw a person in a bathing suit come out of the water, as if he had taken his bath in it, and wrap himself up (a very tall person, very tall, who was neither a man nor a woman), he wrapped himself up in a bathrobe, then walked away on the water (!) I was watching this till suddenly I realized that the water was beginning to reach my feet. Then I KNEW: Ah, yes! Theyve decided to do this. I was a little upset: They really could have told me they were going to do this! I thought. Its something they must do regularly. Did they inform some people? (All this in my head, of course.)
And I kept admiring that water, thinking, But its purity itself! It was reaching my feet, yet I wasnt getting wet. Then I remarked, If I stay here (Because I was standing with my back against closed doors and the building extended beyond them, but in front of me there was nothing, so normally the water should have flowed out that wayhow is it then that it didnt? I dont know the whole thing was quite marvelous!) And it was rising and rising and rising, until it reached my ankles and suddenly triggered something within me I woke up.
--
And everything was very well organized, because all the doors were closed and the water didnt enter where it wasnt supposed to I saw no one drowned, no one in danger. There was no danger for anyone. And there was only one being, a vital being (he wasnt like the others I had seen downstairs). He had had great fun in that water! And he was leaving.
I remember that when the water touched my feet, it was (how can I explain?) it wasnt a sensation, I had no sensations, but around my feet it was like sparkling diamonds. Obviously I didnt intend to be fully immersed in it. And when I felt the water around my feet, I had an odd sensation (a perception, not a sensation), not the sensation of being wet, but clearly like: I shouldnt stay here. And I woke up very abruptly.
0 1963-10-16, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And yesterday, it was all very peaceful: X was there all the time with nobody in front of him, not pretending anything. But the first time, as he expected some result, he stayed on for ten minutesprobably he was expecting some reaction (I never told him that Sri Aurobindo is with me all the time, that we talk to each other every night). Anyhow, he was probably expecting some enthusiasm on my part (!) There you are.
[Satprem cannot believe what Mother has just told him:] It was a will coming from him? It wasnt someone else who used that substance?
--
Yes, I told you, the day when I entered his mind, it was frightful!
I cant listen to him, but I can be with him without listening to him.
--
Its still there; even in those who have developed their higher mind, who are able to emerge from that darkness and ignorance, its still there its still there in a sort of m ental or vital subconsci ent. And its so dark! Thoroughly stupid, you know: it can be given hundreds and thousands of proofs, it remains unaffecteda kind of incapacity to understand. And then it constantly rises to the surface, and I am constantly obliged (gesture of offering to the Heights) to pres ent it: This is still there, that is still there, that And I see very well that the distinction between what goes on in this body and its atmosphere, and what goes on in all other bodies is I dont know if the distinction still exists, but its imperceptible. And the consciousness is aware of all those movem ents as if they were personal to the physical person. But the physical person (Mother touches her body) isnt just this body I am not yet sure whether the physical person isnt the whole earth (for certain things, it is the whole earth), or whether the physical person is the entirety of all the bodies of the people I am in contact with. During the last hours of the night, that is, between 2 and 4, I see precise forms; but those precise forms are themselves repres entative, meaning there are TYPES and those types take on the image of someone I am in contact with or was in personal contact with. But to me they are types: Oh, its such and such a type but that can be thousands of people. And the action (its always for an action), the action on the person-type has repercussions on all that he repres ents.
And thats a labor which seems infiniteendless, at any rate.
--
Listen, the night before, in the middle of the night, someone came to me (someone who was dark blue, which means a m ental formation) with a plan of action, and told me, Its all arranged: on such and such a day and at such and such a time (it was meant for next year), you will have this work to do, you will have to come downstairs, and here is how everything will be arranged for you to come downthis, that, that. And I played the game very well, I answered, Oh, no! That wont do, you have to arrange it this way and that way. Then when it was all over, something suddenly made me go within (gesture of return inward), I looked at the whole thing, saw the person, saw the plan, saw everything (I was in the midst of an action), and said, Yes, all this is very well, but you see, the snag is that I am not going downstairs! And at one stroke, frrt! goneit was a construction, as if there were an entire organization, even a governm ental one (!), to make me come downstairs. And when I woke up (that is, in the morning when I came out of my activity of the night), I thought, Could it be what showed itself (it was a m ental formationfrom whom, from where? I didnt bother about that), could it be what showed itself to X and made him declare with the authority of a clairvoyant: Mother will come downstairs next year? I found it very amusing.
Things are increasingly AS THEY ARE: exact, without complications. I have noticed that with people, even the most sincere and straightforward, there is always a kind of coating, an emotive coating (even with the coldest and driest), something that belongs to the vital; an emotive coating that makes things fuzzy, uncertain and allows a game that gives them a feeling of all sorts of mysterious forces at playthings are very clear, very simple, very, oh, very simple, and that coating brings along a sort of confusion. Its not s entim ent, not emotion either, its something something that LOVES uncertainty, the unknown, the unexpectednot positively chance (its not so strong), but which loves to live in that, in in fact, in Ignorance! Which loves not to know whats going to happen. Even the simplest things, the most obvious, have all that coating over them.
--
There is still a long way to go to enter Knowledge the consciousness in which you know things quietly, in which everything is so simple, so natural, so evid ent. And its that coating which brings complications: suddenly things get complicated in the human atmosphere.
I think animals (not those which live with men), animals (there ar ent many left nowadays, they have all been contaminated by man!), the natural animalsanimals in their natural statehave a very simple life. Everything is quite evid ent, quite simple, quite naturalwere the ones who make complications.
0 1963-11-04, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
An example: yesterday, for at least a quarter of an hour, I was filled with a sort of marvelousmarvelingadmiration for Natures fantastic imagination in inv enting the animals. I saw all the animals in all their details that is, the prehuman age. Consequ ently, there was no mind. And without the mind, how wonderful that imagination was, you know! It was as though I lived in it: there was no man, no thought, but that imaginative power making one species emerge out of another, and then another; and all those details Everything is becoming like that, as if it were SEEN for the first time and from an altogether differ ent angle; everything, everything: peoples character, circumstances, even the motion of the earth and the stars, everything is like that, everything has become entirely new and unexpected, in the sense that all the human m ental visionis completely gone! So things are much better! (Laughing) Much better without the human mind. (I dont mean they are better without man, I mean that seen from another viewpoint than the human, m ental viewpoint, everything is far more wonderful.) And then, all the details of every minute, all the people, all the things, all The trees (Mother looks at the coconut tree in front of her window) that were stripped by the cyclone; this one held up so marvelously and it has a new flowerit has old leaves damaged by the cyclone, but it has grown a new flower. So lovely, so fresh! Everything is like that.
Me too. Me too, I saw myself (laughing) from a new angle! And the things that in the past were, not positively problems, but anyway questions to be resolved (certain actions, certain relationships), all gone! And there is something that thoroughly enjoys itself I dont know what that something is, but it thoroughly enjoys itself.
Outwardly, as I told you, everything is heaped on me (on me, well, it isnt on me), on this body, which is obliged to answer questions, obliged to read letters, obliged to see people whereas it has so much more fun when it can enjoy the inner experience and have this new vision of thingsbecause all that is very material, its not going out of Matter to see the world in another way (that has been done for a long time, of course, its nothing new, and its nothing marvelous), thats not it: its Matter looking at itself in an entirely new way, and thats where the fun is! It sees the whole affair anew and altogether differ ently. Then they plunge me back into that stupid way of seeing things, the ordinary human way in which everything becomes a problem, a complication. And I am obligedobliged to answer people, to listen to what they tell me. Its a shame.
Theyre wasting my time.
--
Its impossible to satisfy desire perfectlyits something. impossible. And to renounce desire too: you renounce one desire and get another one. Therefore, both ways are relatively impossiblewhats possible is to enter a condition in which there is no desire.
(long silence)
0 1963-11-13, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The entire process of developm ent, at least on the earth (I dont know how it is on other planets) is that way. And perhaps (I dont know very much about the history of astronomy) universes toodo they know if universes perish physically, if the physical history of the end of a universe has been recorded? Traditions tell us that a universe is created, then withdrawn into pralaya, and then a new one comes; and according to them, ours is the sev enth universe, and being the sev enth universe, it is the one that will not return to pralaya but will go on progressing, without retreat. This is why, in fact, there is in the human being that need for permanence and for an uninterrupted progressits because the time has come.
(Mother remains in contemplation)
0 1963-11-20, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And here I am trying never to remember! I go to the greatest trouble to succeed I do succeed, I am beginning to succeed. When I go to bed, I ask, For the love of God, for the love of You, Lord, let me rest blissfully and peacefully, without being conscious of all that useless jumble of life and people. And when I wake up (I wake up nearly four or five times in the night, that is, I come out of my trance and enter the external consciousness), every time I notice there had been an ev ent going on, but immediately, something comes and goes vrrt! (gesture of erasing) because I asked; so it goes away. And Hes full of humor, the Lord, you know (Mother laughs), far more than we think, because He gives me just a hint of something which is suddenly extremely interesting and revealing: the other day, I had been put in contact with the political circumstances of the country, then naturally, at my idiotic request, as soon as I woke up, as soon as I came back to the external consciousness, something came and w ent vrrt! and the thing vanished. So I made a little attempt to bring it back, but I heard someone laugh, saying, You see!
In the end, the conclusion of it all is that were fools! We want what were not given, we dont want what were given, and we mix in all kinds of personal desires with the care the Lord takes of us.
--
I tried to find out why your physical life began (well, not quite began, but you were very, very young, just the same) with such a painful experience [the conc entration camps]. And I saw why: it was like a separationnot separation, but dis entanglem ent, you understand? There are two things in every human being: what comes from the past and has persisted because it is formed and conscious, and then all that dark, unconscious mass, really muddy, that is added in every new life. Then the other thing gets into that and finds itself imprisoned, you knowadulterated and imprisoned and generally it takes more than half ones life to emerge from that entanglem ent. Well, for you, care was taken to more than double the dose at the beginning, and it caused a kind of tearing apart: one part w ent up above, another part fell down below. And the part (it acted almost like a filter), the part that rose up was very cleansed, very cleansed of all that swarming: its becoming very, very conscious of the mixture. Just see, today, the whole morning until I was swamped with work by people, till then there was a sharp awareness of the part of the being that still belongs, as I said, to Unconsciousness, to Ignorance, to Darkness, to Stupidity, and is not even as harmonious as a tree or a flower; something thats not even as tranquil as a stone, not even as harmonious and not even as strong as the animal something that is really a downfall. That is really human inferiority. And maybe (no, I shouldnt say maybe: I know) it was necessary for things to settle downsettle, you know, as when you let a liquid settle? Thats exactly it: its the Light that settles, the Consciousness that settles. And indeed its true, there is in you a part that has entirely settled. Every time I see it (it comes in the course of the work, you understand), its lovely in its quality of light, its quality of vibration, and it has settled considerably. But its true that there is also a kind of sedim ent, a deposit (deposit, you know?) which is a bit heavy thats what youre conscious of.
But you shouldnt say me! Its not you, that residue isnt you! But you are indeed conscious of the Light, ar ent you?
--
But you cant imagine, its wonderful! Immediately there comesclear, simple, effortlessly, without seeking for itexactly what has to be done or said or written: the whole tension stops, its over. And then, if you need paper, the paper is there; if you need a fountain pen, you find just the one you need; if you need (theres no seeking: above all dont seek, dont try to seek, youll just make another mess)its there. And thats a fact of EVERY MINUTE. You have the field of experience every second. For instance, youre dealing with a servant who doesnt do things properly or as you think they should be done, or youre dealing with a stomach that doesnt work the way youd like it to and it hurts: its the same method, there is no other. You know, at times situations get so tense that you feel as if youre about to faint, the body cant stand it any more, its so tense; or else theres a pain, something wrong, things ar ent sorting themselves out, and theres a tension; so immediately you stop everything: Lord, You, its up to You. At first there comes a peace, as if you were entirely outside existence, and then its gone the pain goes, the dizziness disappears. And what is to happen happens automatically. And, you see, its not in meditation, not in actions of terrestrial importance: its the field of experience you have ALL the time, without interruptionwhen you know how to put it to use. And for everything: when something hurts, for instance, when things resist or grate or howl inside there, instead of your saying, Oh, how it hurts! you call the Lord in there: Come in here, and then you stay calm, not thinking of anythingyou simply stay still in your sensation. And more than a thousand times, you know, I was almost bewildered: Look! The pain is gone! You didnt even notice how it w ent. So people who want to lead a special life or have a special organization to have experiences, thats quite silly the greatest possible diversity of experiences is at your disposal every minute, every minute. Only you must learn not to have a m ental ambition for great things. Just the other day, I was shown in such a clear way a very small thing I had done (I, its the body speaking), a very small things that had been done by the Lord in this body (thats a long s entence!), and I was shown the terrestrial consequence of that very small thingit was visible, I mean, as my hand is visible to my eyesand the terrestrial correspondence. Then I understood.
We are given everythingEVERYTHING. All the difficulties that have to be overcome, all of them (and the more capable we are, that is, the more complex the instrum ent is, the more numerous the difficulties are), all the difficulties, all the opportunities to overcome them, all the possible experiences, and limited in time and space so they can be innumerable. And it has repercussions and consequences all over the earth (I am not concerned with what goes on in the universe because, for the time being, that isnt my work). But it is certain (because it has been said so and I know it) that what goes on on the earth has repercussions throughout the universe. Sitting there, you live the everyday life with its usual insignificance, its unimportance, its lack of interest and its a WONDERFUL field of experiences, of innumerable experiences, not only innumerable but as varied as can be, from the most subtle to the most material, without leaving your body. Only, you should have RETURNED to it. You cannot have authority over your body without having left it.
0 1963-11-23, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
He was one of the instrum ents for the establishm ent of peaceits a setback for the entire political history of the earth.
But probably, it means basically that things wer ent ready: some parts would have been overlooked.
--
So there is the good destiny and the bad destiny; there is a divine force which one regards as something entirely beyond understanding, whose designs and aims are perfectly inexplicable, and the submission, the surrender consists in acceptingblindlyall that happens. Ones nature revolts, but revolts against an Absolute against which it is helpless. And all of that is Ignorance. Not one of all those movem ents is truefrom the most intense revolt to the blindest submission, its all false, not one true movem ent.
I dont know if its in Sri Aurobindos writings (I dont remember), but I hear very strongly (not for me, for mankind):
--
But were so totally enslaved to very small things the very small things of the body: its needs (or supposed needs). I see all the entreaties that come from everywhere, and it all revolves around the same thing (even those who think theyve understood that the consciousness must be generalnot collective, but terrestrial theyre slaves to the reactions of their body), it all revolves around two things: sleep-food-sleep-food-sleep (Mother draws a circle). Even with those who profess that they have no interest in those things, they still have the power to cause reactions in their consciousness: a sleepless night or poor digestion, or an upset digestive system there you are. It has the power to weigh down on their faith and to take away its capacity of action. Its a kind of attachm entan involuntary and mechanical attachm entto that need for sleep and that need for food. And I dont mean people who love to eat or lazy people who like to sleep I dont even mean that, which is all the way down, thats not it: I mean those who ar ent interested in food and would really like to replace sleep with something else, something more interesting, even thoseall, all, all of them.
And even this body, which has been worked on and kneaded for years Its in the subconsci ent of the body. And so that was the answer, it was said to the body:
0 1963-11-27, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
For some time, I had been encountering in N. a sort of resistance to the Action. Whenever he entered the atmosphere (Mother makes the gesture of banging against a wall), it resisted terribly. And I didnt have any int ention other than to make it give way, in other words, I confined myself to the inner action (gesture indicating the Force at work). Then, as it happened, he fell ill. Yesterday, he came as every day, but he wasnt well. So I told him, Listen, go downstairs, shut yourself up in your room, enter Sachchidananda and dont move from it. (He is quite capable of doing it.) In the evening, the doctor came and told me that N. had a very high fever: He is restless. The fever was too high. I thought, The resistance is even stronger than I thought. At night, when I w ent to bed, I began to conc entrate on him to see, and I saw him surrounded by a kind of black crust, which obviously comes from the fact that he isnt used to purifying himself as things come onto him from outside (me too, for example, I would be surrounded by a black cuirass, absolutely coal black, if I didnt do my work of purification all the time, all the time, all the time). So I saw this, and did what was needed. And this morning, the fever had dropped. But the interesting thing is that when he came this morning, he told me this: Last night I had a vision: I suddenly found myself entirely surrounded by coal, a thick crust of coal, and I wanted to get rid of it and get out of it. I looked at my hands, I had nothing in them, so I thought, How can I do it? I have nothing to do it with. And instantly, I saw the crust begin to crumble and crumble and crumble into dust and gone! And this morning, I feel weak and tired, but its over.
Its a minimum of distortion.
0 1963-12-03, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
December 2nd was interestingsports day1: the day before, the 1st, the weather was wonderful, and insofar as I gave it thought I was convinced that on the 2nd it would be just as fine. But in the morning I saw it was nothing of the sort, and as the day w ent by, it became worse and worse. In the beginning my first movem ent was to say to myself, Well, I didnt see to it, I should have given it thought, but then I saw that was absurd. Then I told the Lord, Why are You doing this? Its not very nice! Those children have worked so hard, they have taken great pains. And just as I said it, the consciousness was looking at what I said, smiling, Oh, my! How silly still to be that way! And then there was yet another thing (its becoming very, very complete), something that wasnt exactly the Lord, but like an expression of the Lord, telling me (not with words, of course, but how can I explain? Sri Aurobindo describes it very well in the Yoga of Self-Perfection: its a very new thing which has to do with action, feeling, sensation and consciousness all at the same time; its all of them togethernone of those things, yet all of them), so it was there, telling me (I am putting it into words, but that distorts it entirely), So what! What if its a test, what do you have to say about it? So immediately in the consciousness here the consciousness at work here the thought awakened, Ah, it has to become a test, then. In THEIR consciousness it has to become a test. (Because at first I had made a kind of attempt to stop the rain; then I saw it didnt correspond to the Truth and that the rain had to be acceptedwhy accepted? To do nothing after having worked so hard? And to accept is easy, its nothing, its not interesting, nothing new.) So a test, all right. If they take it as a test, they will go through it victoriously and it will be very good. And all the time, I was so conc entrated on them [at the sports ground] that I no longer knew what I was doing or where I was. It lasted from 4 P.M. to 8 P.M. Around 8 P.M., I received the news: they had gone on with the performance just the same, the important visitors had remained till the end, so ultimately it was a real success.
There was only one difficulty: the little children, who cannot be conscious of a test, of course, and who remained four and a half hours in the rain. I didnt want it to do any damage there were about a hundred small ones, tiny tots. I sp ent the night in conc entration to bring into their material sensation the true reaction (because, for a short while, children love rain, they have a lot of fun in it), so I said to myself, That part of their consciousness should predominate so there is no damage. And I waited for the day after. The day after, no one was sick.
Then I received a letter from M., the captain, saying that they had felt it was a test, the lila2 of the Lord (he called it the lila of the universal Mother) and asking me if it was true. I was happy and answered him that it was true and that I was happy. And everyone told me, They were wonderful. As if doing that performance in the rain had given rise to a kind of will in them, and they were remarkable: everybody was enthusiastic. So instead of saying to the Lord, Thats not nice, I thanked Him heartily! And I laughed, I thought, There you have it! Its always that way.
And all the experiences come in that way (Mother makes a round, global gesture). It cant be expressed with words; there are a hundred things that come together like that, and which (gesture of round movem ents within that round totality), and then there is the sense of a light (which might be like a will, but not a will formulated with words), a light that moves within it all and arranges it all, then produces a resultwhich isnt one small thing, one point or one thing: its a mass of things; and its always moving, always in motion, always in a kind of progression towards a more perfect reorganization. And the sense of individual action, of individual participation, of individual will, seems so IDIOTIC that its absolutely impossible to have it. Even if one tried, one couldnt. Once one LIVES that the whole sense of individual importance in all that seems so STUPID, you know, that its absolutely impossible to think that way or feel that way.
I would like to be able to pass this experience on to others, because, well, its definitive: once you LIVE that for several hours, its over, you can no longer entertain any illusion,3 its not possibleits impossible, its so STUPID, you know! Above all, so silly, so flatits impossible (Mother makes the same gesture of a round, moving totality). But then you cannot say, I said this, the other answered that! How can we express ourselves? Our language is still truly inadequate. Its not that way its (same round gesture) and there isnt even either sense or direction: its not that this goes that way and that goes this way (gesture from one person to another, or from inside to outside), or that it goes this way and comes back that way (gesture from low to high and high to low), thats not it; its a whole a whole that moves, moves always forward, and with internal vibrations, internal movem ents. So according to the given point of conc entration, this or that action is done.
Very long ago, many times over, when I looked at the universe (I dont mean the earth: the universe), it was that way (same gesture of a round totality). How can I put it? It gave the feeling of moving forward, of moving forward towards a progressive perfection. For years on end, my perception of the earth has been that way; and now, it takes place completely at will, in the sense that it takes only just a small movem ent in the consciousness (gesture of a trigger or a slight reversal, a drawing within) for the whole earth to move that way, along with the ev ents and the inner complications. But now, that same consciousness of the whole works that way: when it thinks of something (for some reason of work, not because of an arbitrary decision), the thing imposes itself; its a whole set of things that pres ents itself as the TOTALITY on which the action must take place. So it may be a small thing like this sports festival, it may be the Ashram (very often the Ashram as a whole), it may be a part of the earth, or sometimes even a single individual (who is no longer an individual but a set or a world of things, a totality4). A totality of things (round gesture) that move within themselves in (Mother draws within that totality small movem ents, individual and local, like waves or curr ents of force). Oh, its most interesting! And even there, there is no more notion of this person, that person, so-and-soall that vanishes.
--
I had another interesting example, with a visitor: a German industrial magnate, it seems. I had seen his photo and found there was something in him I had him come. He entered the room and came in front of me: he didnt know what to do (no one had told him anything). So I looked at him and put some force (Mother slowly lowers her hand), a little, progressively. And all at once (at first he was quite official, it was MISTER So-and-so who was there), all at once his left hand began to rise, like this (gesture of a hand clenched as in trance), all the rest was absolutely still. When I saw that, I smiled and withdrew the force, then let him go. It seems he w ent downstairs, w ent into Sri Aurobindos room and started weeping. Afterwards, the next day, he wrote to me and told me in German English that I had been too human: Why have you been too human? He wanted his being to be DESTROYED in order to be born again to the true life.
That interested me. I thought, Oh, he felt it, he was conscious both of the force and of my withdrawing it. I answered him, True, I spared you, but because it was your first visit! Prepare yourself, I will see you again.
You see, he came in as a big industrial person with a remarkable power of m ental creation that organizes ev ents thats what entered the room and then it melted. And I didnt put the full charge: I simply put some power like this (Mother lowers her hand), and I was looking him in the face. Then I felt something going on lower down; I looked: his hand was tightly clenched. So I stopped.
But the remarkable thing is that he was CORRECTLY conscious.
0 1963-12-07 - supramental ship, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There are lots of things which people dont even take notice of in life (when they live an ordinary life, they dont take any notice), theres a whole field of things that are absolutely not quite unconscious, but certainly not conscious; they are reflexesreflexes, reactions to stimuli, and so on and also the response (a semiconscious, barely conscious response) to the pressure exerted from above by the Force, which people are totally unconscious of. It is the study of this question which is now in the works; I am very much occupied with it. A study of every second. You see, there are differ ent ways for the Lord to be pres ent, its very interesting (the difference isnt for Him, its for us!), and it depends precisely on the amount of habitual reflex movem ents that take place almost outside our observation (generally completely outside it) And this question preoccupied me very, very much: the ways of feeling the Lords Presence the differ ent ways. There is a way in which you feel it as something vague, but of which you are sureyou are always sure but the sensation is vague and a bit blurred and at other times it is an acute Presence2 (Mother touches her face), very precise, in all that you do, all that you feel, all that you are. There is an entire range. And then if we follow the movem ent (gesture in stages, moving away), there are those who are so far away, so far, that they dont feel anything at all.
This experience made me write something yesterday (but it has lasted several days), it came as the outcome of the work done, and yesterday I wrote it both in English and in French:
--
Then, the entire world, the universe, appeared to me in that light, and at every point (which takes up no space), at every point of the universe and throughout the universe, its that way. Not that there are far and near places in the universe, thats not what I mean (its beyond space), but there is a whole hierarchy of nearness, up to something that doesnt feel and doesnt knowits not that it is outside, because nothing can be outside the Lord, but it is as if the extreme limit: so far away, so far, so farabsolutely black that He seems not to reach there.
It was a very total vision. And such an acute experience that it seemed to be the only true thing. It didnt take up any space, yet there was that sensation of nearness and farness. And there was a kind of Focus, or a C enter, I cant say (but it was everywhere), which was the climax of Theepurely Thee. And it had a quality of its own. Then it began to move farther and farther away, which produced a kind of mixture with something that was nothing that didnt exist but that altered the vibration, the intensity, which made it move farther and farther away to Darknessunconscious Darkness.
0 1963-12-14, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The night before last, almost all of it, was sp ent with himall kinds of very interesting things. They are mostly impressions. Extremely interesting impressions. And I understood an entire aspect of the creation.
The way the world is now physically organized, with the difference and specialization in the forms, in sexes, encourages a kind of opposition between the two poles, the union of which results in creation. So, naturally, each pole has enormous difficulty understanding the other (although it thinks and believes it does), especially understanding the pole I place underneath (gesture signifying the basis of the world), which is the effectively creative pole, that is to say, what is expressed by woman. She feels very well that without this (gesture above) the full understanding isnt there; but this, which is above, doesnt AT ALL understand the creative power of that which is belowit knows it in principle, but doesnt understand it. And there is a lack of adaptation, a sort of conflict, which shouldnt exist. It never existedneverbetween Sri Aurobindo and me, but I could see it didnt exist because he had adopted the attitude of complete surrender to the eternal Mother (the stage, in the creation, of complete surrender). I would see it, and it embarrassed me! It embarrassed me, I thought, But why does he think he has to do that (laughing), as if I couldnt understand! On the contrary, I thirst for the other attitude for id entifying myself this way instead of that way (Mother presses her fist upward against her hand above): for id entifying myself from below upward instead of from above downward. It was an aspiration, which has been there almost for eternities for the universal creative Force to id entify itself with the Creator. And to id entify itself not through the desc ent of the Creator, but through the asc ent of the Force the conscious asc ent. But Sri Aurobindo willed it that way, so it was that way and then I was very busy with my work. For the thirty years we lived together, it w ent on that way, perfectly smoothly; and I kept my aspiration quiet because I knew that it was his will. But since he left and I was obliged to do his work, so to speak, things have changed. But I didnt in the least want the Creator, because of my taking up the work, to be obliged to adapt himself to the creative Force (that wont do at all!), and my whole aspiration has been for the creative Force to consciously BECOME the Creator. Its becoming increasingly that way. And at the last meeting [with Sri Aurobindo], for a time (not the whole time, but some time), it was that way. Then I understood; it made me understand the play of all the forces in the two elem ents the two polesand how they could be joined, through what process that opposition could disappear so that the total Being might exist.
0 1963-12-21, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There are so many victories I cant win yet! Its obviously an incapacity, there are limitations; it must come from an attitude thats not entirely what it should be.
The Lords Presence is there, his Action is there, in a way that I could almost call perpetual because It rarely It never withdraws, but the times when It isnt active, when It becomes a little passive, are far less frequ ent than the times when It is activefar less, there is a big difference. And yet, the result this ought to bring is not there. Therefore, since It uses this body and this atmosphere [of Mother], there must be something that dims, that limits, that alters. I could give some quite precise and concrete examples, but anyway they involve certain people here, so I wont m ention them. But thats what made me question: why, why?
--
When you can enter that vibration in its purity, you realize immediately that it has the same quality as the vibration of Love: it is directionless. It isnt something going from one thing to another, it doesnt go from here to there (gesture from low to high) or there to here it is (round gesture) simultaneous and total.
I mean it isnt something that needs the two poles in order to exist; it doesnt go from one pole to the other or from the other to the one: its a vibration which in its purity is the same as the vibration of Love, which doesnt go from here to there or from there to here the two poles of existence.
0 1963-12-25, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There is at the mom ent an entire study going on in the subconsci ent on the cause of illnesses. I am not seeing very pleasant things.
There is a whole zone in the most material vital which penetrates, as it were, the subtle physical thats where illnesses are formed. You see swarms of completely crooked formationsa lack of sincerity. And it expresses itself in images: I see all kinds of people and do all kinds of things in a special zone the same people who are elsewhere are here too under a special aspect. Its a mixture of the deformation of consciousness, the deformation of language, the deformation of formsswarms and swarms! For hours.
But I was always accompanied by a form, not a very precise one, but which was the materialization in that realm of the Lords Presence. I remember having for the work entered a huge room, completely bare, without anything, in a half-light, when suddenly I felt something grabbing hold of me here (gesture at the nape of the neck), something I even felt physically (I was lying in my bed, but I felt it physically). So I pointed it out to that Form which was accompanying me everywhereso att entive, so closeto explain and show things to me; I complained, saying, Look, something has grabbed hold of me, it even hurts physically. So I saw a kind of arm come and take that thing on my neck, pull it away and pres ent it to me: it was like one of those big bats that are called flying fox (there are some here, they eat little birds, chicks), it was clinging to my neck! He said, Oh, its nothing! Its only that. (Mother laughs) And it was a big thing like this (about three feet) which had grabbed hold of me here and had its two claws still out (he had wrenched it off my neck). It had become flat and almost inert, but it was still as vicious as anything.
It was quite simply an incid entto m ention just one.
--
Then He seemed to lead me to other places, where I saw a sort of scorpion with a very odd shape (it was also a sort of entity in that realm and it gave other illnesses) trying to climb up somewhere. There was also a truncated snake which had been cut through, and out of the cut something like its life was escaping, yet it was still alive. All kinds of horrors. But there wasnt the slightest feeling of disgust: it was more like a consciousness studying, observing, and the I that observed was the force exerted by the consciousness on the play of those things.
It isnt a pleasant realm. Its the realm thats just like this (Mother places one hand over the other), immediately beyond (how can I put it? Its neither higher nor deeper inside) beyond the subtle physical, and its the realm in which formations of illness MATERIALIZE. I sp ent more than three hours of the night in it.
0 1963-12-31, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In fact, in Savitri, Sri Aurobindo w ent through all the worlds, and it so happens that I am following that without knowing it (because I never rememberthank God, I really thank heaven!I asked the Lord to take away my m ental memory and He took it away entirely, so I am not weighed down), but I follow that description in Savitri without m entally knowing the sequence of the worlds, and these last few days I was in that Muddle of Falsehood (I told you last time), it was really painful, and I was tracking it down to the most tenuous vibrations, those that go back to the origin, to the mom ent when Truth could turn into Falsehoodhow it all happened. And it is so tenuous, almost imperceptible, that deformation, the original Deformation, that you tend to lose heart and you think, Its still really quite easy to topple over the slightest thing and you can still topple over into Falsehood, into Deformation. And yesterday, I had in my hands a passage from Savitri that was brought to meits a marvel, but its so sad, so miserable, oh, I could have cried (I dont easily cry).
The world grew full of menacing Energies,
--
And last night, there was the Answer, as it were. This morning, when I got up, I didnt remember clearly, but in the middle of the night I knew it very well. (Its not going from sleep to the waking consciousness: it is coming out of one state to enter another one, and when I came out of that state to enter the so-called normal one, I remembered very well.) I was as if made to live the WAY of turning that Falsehood into Truth, and it was so joyful! So joyful. In the sense that its a vibration similar to joy that is capable of dissolving and overcoming the vibration of Falsehood. That was very important: it isnt effort, it isnt righteousness, or scruple or rigidity, none of that, none of that has any effect on that sadness (it is a sadness) of Falsehoodits something so sad, so helpless, so miserable so miserable. And only a vibration of Joy can change it.
It was a vibration that flowed like silvery waterit rippled and flowed like silvery water.
--
There all could enter but none stay for long.
It was a no mans land of evil air,
--
So, if we love the Lord, we cannot give Him cause for sorrow, and necessarily we emerge from Falsehood and enter Joy.
Thats what I saw last night. It was all silvery. All silvery, silvery.
--
But that [Falsehood] is the great obstacle, the extreme difficulty. Its something gluey which entered the creation and sticks to everything, and which has become a material habit too, because its not only Mind that has Falsehood in it: theres Falsehood in Life, in Life itself. In the completely inanimate, I dont know. Maybe it came with Life? (According to Savitri, the origin of Falsehood lies in Life.) But its as though Unconsciousness, in order to go towards Consciousness, to return to Consciousness, had taken the path of Falsehood and Death instead of the path of Truth.
And Falsehood is this: the sorrow of the Lord.
0 1964-01-04, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
But I gave you your name because There are many people who are very, very differ ent appar ently and are in relation with very differ ent aspects of the Mother, yet who all, for a reason which I know, will find the fullness of their being only when, Truth having been fulfilled on earth, divine Love will be able to manifest purely thats why I called you Satprem. And there are other people, whom I know very well, who appear to be at the other end (how can I put it?) of the realization of their character (they are entirely differ ent in origin, entirely differ ent in influence), and yet who have exactly the same character with regard to something else, which I will tell only when the time comes. And its only when divine Love can manifest in its absoluteness that they will have the fullness of their being. So that for the mom ent they have, like you, but for very differ ent reasons, the feeling that things dont move, nothing gets done, nothing changes you know, that all your efforts are useless; or else, for a few who do not have a suffici ently developed higher mind, they dont have faith: they think, Oh, its all promises, but (vague gesture, up above).
You are saved from that difficulty by the fact that up above you understand fully. But thats very rareyou should be infinitely grateful! (Mother laughs)
0 1964-01-18, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I saw S.G. this morning, the person who w ent to America, who knew Kennedy and even spoke to him about the possibility of openly joining with Russia so as to exert pressure on the world and prev ent armed disputes (he said, to settle all border and territorial disputes in a peaceful way, beginning, of course, with China and India). Kennedy had been enthusiastic. The Russian ambassador had been summoned at once, and he had telephoned Khrushchev: enthusiastic over the idea (but this Khrushchev seems to be rather a good man). They were supposed to sort it out during a meeting at the U.N. At this point, Kennedy makes off.1
But the idea has been taken up again through Khrushchev and he continues to be quite enthusiastic.2 It seems (I dont know if its quite true, because its Z [a Russian disciple] who says so) but Z s ent him my article A Dream,3 on the possibility of creating a small international c enter (I dont like the word international, but never mind), and Khrushchev answered, This idea is excell ent, the entire world should make it a reality. Well, I dont know whether its correct, but anyway the g entleman seems to be well-disposed. And this S.G. is very intimate with the U.S. ambassador in Delhi. In brief, S.G. has s ent me the new proposal the first one, I had approved it, I had even put my blessings on it, and he had gone to see Nehru: Nehru immediately called both ambassadors for a conference.4 At the time, I worked a good deal and things were moving. Now, it seems that the new presid ent [Johnson] is, for the time being, continuing what the other did: he wont upset the apple cart. Well see.
If it succeeds, it will give some concrete expression to the effort of transformation without violence.
--
Well, exactly! They are the ones: a fortress. Its the entire European elite.
Especially the French, no?
--
Oh, the British, thats a differ ent phenomenon, mon petit! Anything that isnt British is worthless! (Mother laughs) The British alone are practical, the British alone are intellig ent, the British alone know how to live, the British alone are powerful, the British alone In short, there are only the British, the entire earth ought to be British but the British, I took a thorough dislike to them when I was five years old!5 (Mother laughs) I remember, I always used to say, But our real enemies (as a child, just like that, between us), our real enemies ar ent the Germans: its always been the British. And then I had, like Sri Aurobindo, a great admiration for Napoleon, so I had quite a grudge against them for the way they treated him.
Oh, no! The British (laughing) the only thing that rehabilitated them in the worlds history is that Sri Aurobindo w ent to study in their country! But he clearly said that during his studies there, his whole feeling of intimacy was with France, not England.
0 1964-01-22, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Now, its a little better, but it has become Why not me? Mother has seen such and such a category of people, therefore the entire category has a right to be seen! The birthdays1 too, it depends on the ages and occupations: if I see people of a certain age and occupation on their birthdays, all those of about the same age and similar occupation have a RIGHT to comethey have the rightand it is my DUTY to see them. And when I say that I dont have the time theyre upset.
Its a farce, you know! And that farce has been going on since 1929.
0 1964-01-29, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Doubt, discouragem ent, diminution or loss of faith, waning of the vital enthusiasm for the ideal, perplexity and a baffling of the hope for the future are the common features of the difficulty. In the world outside there are much worse symptoms such as the general increase of cynicism, a refusal to believe in anything at all, a decrease of honesty, an immense corruption, a preoccupation with food, money, comfort, pleasure, to the exclusion of higher things, and a general expectation of worse and worse things awaiting the world. All that, however acute, is a temporary phenomenon for which those who know anything about the workings of the world-energy and the workings of the Spirit were prepared. I myself foresaw that this worst would come, the darkness of night before the dawn; therefore I am not discouraged. I know what is preparing behind the darkness and can see and feel the first signs of its coming. Those who seek for the Divine have to stand firm and persist in their seeking; after a time, the darkness will fade and begin to disappear and the Light will come.
(XXVI.169-170, April 9, 1947)
0 1964-02-05, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There is an experience I have more or less constantly, it is to know exactly when someone is going to enter (the person and the minute when he enters), and to know exactly when the clock is going to strike, BEFORE the sound comes out. It began long ago, months ago, but its growing more and more established, constant and total.
But thats nothing! Its conveni ent, but its nothing.
--
Thats right! That angler you need to be an enthusiast to fish in the Seine! (Mother laughs) You see boats passing by in black smoke and the chap unruffled with his fishing rod. Thats it: shut up in his dreamDream Paris! He must be thinking he is sitting by a little brook in the middle of the countryside.
***
--
It takes a sort of VERY AUSTERE sincerity. You are carried away by enthusiasm because the experience brings an extraordinary power, the Power is there its there before the words, it diminishes with the words the Power is there, and with that Power you feel very universal, you feel, Its a universal Revelation. True, it is a universal revelation, but once you say it with words, its no longer universal: its only applicable to those brains built to understand that particular way of saying it. The Force is behind, but one has to go beyond the words.
(silence)
0 1964-02-13, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The result is that I have piles of letters with frightful insults: Liar, hypocrite. (Mother laughs) It isnt the first time, she has those fits now and then. But after this letter, I received a sort of inner comm and to make one last attempt, and I wrote to her that it was HER SOUL that had asked me to act as I did. Because when I entrusted this work to Sujata instead of her, I had a mom ent of hesitation, then I w ent within to find out, and her soul exerted a very strong pressure for me to act in that way. I had always seen, at every minute, that her aspiration was constantly tainted with that vanityshe always puts on an act for others and for herself. I was waiting pati ently for that vanity to go, but her soul wasnt as patien thers is a very beautiful soul (thats the strange thing, you see, her soul is a very beautiful one), but at times she rejects it viol ently. So I wrote to tell her that now I had something serious to say to her, that it was her soul that had asked me to act in that way in order to break and conquer her egos vanity. She says, I dont want my ego, I dont want my ego but she id entifies herself with it to such a degree that when she has those fits, she is the ego; when the fit is over, she clearly sees the difference. And at the end of my letter, I said, Now, it is up to you to choose between Truth and falsehoodit was a hurricane!
I am waiting till its over.
0 1964-02-26, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Not as much as sometimes. But here, when you look down, its very red. When you lower your eyelid, there is an entire bloodshot area, up to the iris.
So it has started again. All right.
0 1964-03-04, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
I did see something, but I dont think its very interesting, or collective either. I seemed to kind myself in an enormous plane, a very powerful one, which managed to take off (a takeoff which, besides, gave me a very pleasant sensation). It took off, but it was hedgehopping, that was dangerous. At first, the space before us was clear anyway, but we were flying very low and skimming the trees. Then, suddenly there were all kinds of buildings that stood in the way, in particular a huge tower, like a church steeple, of a very black color. I dont know how it happened, but the plane (or the force) entered itoddly enough and inside it was completely dark; there was only a sort of opening in a watt, and beyond it, a patch of blue sky. It sounds impossible, but the plane tried to go through that hose, and when we tried to, that sort of opening turned out to be covered with very thick glass that stopped us from going through. So I remember that with a pointed instrum ent I broke the entire window to enable us to go through. We did, but it was too small, the opening was too narrow for such an enormous plane. Afterwards, its very confused; I only remember that in a hidden place, there was a sort of huge gold ciborium, very beautifulit was hidden. But all the rest is quite confused.
Oh, but its interesting.
0 1964-03-07, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
And something began to descendnot descend: to manifest and permeate; permeate and fill this terrestrial consciousness. What a force it had! What a power! I had never felt that kind of intensity in the material world. A stability, a power! Everything in the sense of a power, everything in the sense of a thrust forwarda thrust forward: progress, evolution, transformation. Everything like that. As if everything, everything were filled with a power of transformationnot transformation, not transmutation, I dont know how to explain it. Not the final transformation that will change the appearance, not that: it was the ananda of progress. The ananda of progress, like the ananda of progress of the animal becoming man, of man becoming supermanit wasnt transformation, it wasnt what will respond to that progress: it was progress. And with a plenitude, a constancy, and No RESISTANCE ANYWHERE: there was no panic anywhere, no resistance anywhere; everything was enthusiastically participating.
It lasted more than an hour.
--
For a very long time the body hasnt felt in the least separatenot in the least. There is even a sort of constant id entification with the people around which at times is troublesome enough, but which I see as a means of action (of control and action). Ill give an example: on the 4th, the last time I saw you, the doctor left for America. He had his lunch here (I told you he was very moved); he was given a sort of little ceremony for his departure. He was sitting on the floor as usual, next to me (I was seated at the table, facing the light), and they served him his lunch; he turned towards me to receive the things. He was in a state of intense emotion (nothing appar ent at all; the appearance was very quiet, he didnt say or do anything extraordinary, but inwardly). At one point I looked at him to encourage him to eat, and our eyes met. Then there came into me from him such a viol ent emotion that I almost started sobbing, can you imagine! And its always there, in the lower abdomen (really in the abdomen), that this id entification with the outside world takes place. There (gesture above the heart c enter), it dominates; the id entification is here (gesture to the abdomen), but the Force dominates (Mother holds up her head); while here (the abdomen), it seems to be still its the lower vital, I mean the lower vital OF MATTER, the vital subdegree OF MATTER. Its on the way to transformation, this is where the work is being done materially. But all those emotions have rather unpleasant repercussions. Even, when I looked at it in detail, I came to think that there must be something analogous in you; you must be open to certain curr ents of force in the lower vital, and those kinds of spasms which you get must be the result. So then, the solution there is only one solution, because immediately I called, I put the Lords Presence there (gesture to the abdomen), and I saw it was extremely CONTAGIOUS. Because I had received the vibrations, they had entered straight in without meeting any obstacles; so the response had a considerable contagious power I saw it immediately: I stopped the doctors vibrations; it took me a few minutes, and everything was back in order again. Then I understood that this opening, this contagion was kept as a means of actionit isnt pleasant for the body (!), but its a means of action.
Its the same thing with that necessity of returning to the superficial consciousness. In the beginning, in the very beginning, when I id entified myself with that pulsation of Love that creates the world, for many days I refused to resume entirely the ordinary, habitual consciousness (to which I was just referring: that sort of surface consciousness which is like bark), I no longer wanted it. Thats why I was outwardly so helpless; in other words, I refused to make any decisions (Mother laughs), the others had to decide and do things for me! Thats what convinced them that I was extremely ill!
Now I understand all this very well.
--
It [this body] wasnt much more interesting or important than many other bodiesit didnt at all have the sense of its importance. Even, in the overall vision of the Work, its pres ent imperfections were quite simply tolerated, even accepted, not because they are unavoidable, but because the amount of conc entration and exclusive att ention necessary to change them does not appear to be important enough to stop or reduce the general work. Thats how it was there was a smile for lots of little things. Finally, as for the Thing (the great thing from the artistic point of view of the material appearance, great too from the point of view of public faith, which only goes by appearances, of course, and which will be convinced only when there is an obvious transformation), it appeared to be, for the mom ent, at any rate, something secondary and not urg ent. But there was a fairly clear perception that soon (how can I put it?) the state of being or way of being (I think they say the modus vivendi) of the body, of this fragm ent of terrestrial Matter, could be altered, ruled, entirely driven by the direct Will. Because it was as if ALL the illusions had fallen away one after another, and every time an illusion disappeared it produced one of those little promises that came in succession, announcing something that would come about later. So that prepared the final realization.
When I got up this morning, I had the feeling that a corner had been turned. But not at alloh, not at all!a subjective thing, not at all: a corner has been turned FOR THE EARTH. It doesnt matter in the least if people ar ent aware of it.2
0 1964-03-11, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
They ar ent eyes of entreaty, look at them closely: they are eyes of willalmost eyes of command.
Yes, as if you were saying, So?
--- Grep of noun ent
abandonment
abasement
abashment
abatement
abducent
abetment
abolishment
abortifacient
abridgement
abridgment
abscondment
absorbent
absorption coefficient
abstinent
abutment
academic department
academic requirement
accent
accident
accompaniment
accomplishment
accouchement
account statement
accouterment
accoutrement
accruement
achievement
acknowledgement
acknowledgment
acquirement
acquisition agreement
activating agent
active agent
actor's agent
acute accent
adherent
adhesive agent
adjournment
adjustment
admonishment
adolescent
adoptive parent
adornment
adsorbent
advancement
advent
advertisement
advertising department
advertizement
advice and consent
advisement
afferent
affluent
age of consent
agent
aggrandisement
aggrandizement
agreement
agricultural agent
agriculture department
ailment
air current
alignment
aliment
alinement
alkylating agent
allegement
allotment
allurement
alluvial sediment
almond crescent
alpha-adrenergic blocking agent
alternating current
alternating electric current
alupent
amazement
amendment
ament
amercement
amusement
anaesthetic agent
ancient
anesthetic agent
animal pigment
anionic detergent
announcement
annulment
anointment
antarctic continent
antecedent
anthropology department
anti-war movement
antianxiety agent
antiflatulent
antifungal agent
antimycotic agent
antipsychotic agent
antispasmodic agent
antiviral agent
apartment
aperient
apparent movement
appeasement
appointment
apportionment
arabian nights' entertainment
arbitrament
arbitrement
arc cotangent
arc tangent
arccotangent
architectural ornament
arctangent
argent
argument
armament
arpent
arraignment
arrangement
arrested development
art department
art movement
art student
articles of agreement
artistic movement
asbestos abatement
ascendent
ascent
assent
assessment
assignment
assortment
assuagement
astonishment
astringent
ataractic agent
atonement
atrovent
attachment
attainment
auxiliary equipment
averment
avouchment
backpacking tent
badminton equipment
bafflement
bailment
ballottement
banishment
bank statement
baseball equipment
basement
basketball equipment
battlement
beating-reed instrument
beauty treatment
bedevilment
befoulment
befuddlement
beguilement
bell tent
belligerent
bemusement
bent
bereavement
bestowment
beta-adrenergic blocking agent
beta-blocking agent
betterment
bewilderment
bewitchment
bilateral descent
bill of indictment
biological agent
biology department
birthday present
biserial correlation coefficient
black september movement
blanching agent
blandishment
blank endorsement
bleaching agent
blessed event
blistering agent
blocking agent
bombardment
book agent
booking agent
bowed stringed instrument
bowel movement
bowling equipment
boxing equipment
brass instrument
breach of trust with fraudulent intent
brent
bridge agent
british parliament
brown bent
brownian movement
building department
burial garment
business agent
business department
business establishment
cantonment
canvas tent
capital punishment
case agreement
casement
cash equivalent
catchment
cationic detergent
causal agent
cautious statement
cement
cent
cerebrovascular accident
cerement
chance event
chastisement
chemical agent
chemical element
chemistry department
christmas present
circus tent
civil rights movement
claim agent
classified advertisement
cleaning equipment
cleaning implement
cleansing agent
client
closure by compartment
co-respondent
coefficient
cognitive content
cognovit judgement
cognovit judgment
collective agreement
college student
colour supplement
commandment
commencement
comment
commerce department
commercial document
commercial instrument
commitment
common stock equivalent
communication equipment
communications security establishment
compartment
complement
compliment
component
comportment
concealment
concentration gradient
condiment
conferment
confession of judgement
confession of judgment
confinement
confluent
congealment
consent
consignment
constituent
containment
content
contentment
continent
contingent
control experiment
convalescent
convent
copyright infringement
corespondent
corporal punishment
correlation coefficient
correspondent
cotangent
cottage tent
council of trent
counterargument
counterbombardment
countercurrent
county agent
creeping bent
crescent
cricket equipment
croquet equipment
crosscurrent
cruel and unusual punishment
crustal movement
cultural movement
curettement
current
curtailment
customer agent
cutting implement
database management
day of atonement
day of judgement
day of judgment
dealignment
debarment
debasement
debridement
debt instrument
decadent
decampment
decedent
decipherment
decrement
defacement
default judgement
default judgment
defense department
deferment
deferred payment
defilement
defrayment
delinquent
demulcent
denouement
denouncement
dent
department
department of housing and urban development
department of local government
department of the federal government
dependent
deployment
deponent
deportment
derailment
derangement
derivative instrument
descendent
descent
despoilment
detachment
detainment
detent
detergent
determent
deterrent
dethronement
detriment
development
devilment
devolvement
dietary supplement
differential coefficient
diluent
dining compartment
dipole moment
direct current
direct electric current
diriment impediment
disability payment
disablement
disagreement
disappointment
disarmament
disarrangement
disbandment
disbarment
disbursement
discernment
disconcertment
discontent
discontentment
discouragement
disembarkment
disembarrassment
disembowelment
disenchantment
disenfranchisement
disengagement
disentanglement
disestablishment
disfigurement
disfranchisement
disgorgement
disgruntlement
disheartenment
dishwasher detergent
dishwashing detergent
disillusionment
disinterment
disinvestment
dislodgement
dislodgment
dismantlement
dismemberment
disownment
disparagement
displacement
dissent
dissident
dissolvent
dissolving agent
distillment
distribution agreement
diving event
divorcement
divulgement
docent
document
dog bent
double-blind experiment
double-reed instrument
double agent
down payment
drafting instrument
drag coefficient
dramatic event
drying agent
duplex apartment
duty assignment
easement
east turkestan islamic movement
east turkistan islamic movement
economic rent
economics department
ecumenical movement
editorial department
education department
edutainment
effacement
efferent
efficiency apartment
effluent
eighteenth amendment
electric current
electric dipole moment
electronic equipment
electronic instrument
electronic musical instrument
element
elimination tournament
elopement
embalmment
embankment
embarkment
embarrassment
embayment
embellishment
embezzlement
embitterment
embodiment
embossment
embracement
embroilment
emollient
emolument
emplacement
employment
employment agent
employment agreement
empowerment
enactment
encampment
encasement
enchantment
encirclement
encompassment
encouragement
encroachment
endangerment
endearment
endorsement
endowment
energy department
enfeeblement
enfeoffment
enforcement
enfranchisement
engagement
english department
engorgement
engrossment
enhancement
enjambement
enjambment
enjoinment
enjoyment
enlargement
enlightenment
enlistment
ennoblement
enragement
enrichment
enrollment
enrolment
enslavement
ent man
entablature
entail
entailment
entandrophragma
entandrophragma cylindricum
entanglement
entasis
entebbe
entelea
entelechy
entellus
entente
entente cordiale
enteric-coated aspirin
enteric bacteria
enteric fever
enterics
entering
enteritis
enterobacteria
enterobacteriaceae
enterobiasis
enterobius
enterobius vermicularis
enteroceptor
enterokinase
enterolith
enterolithiasis
enterolobium
enterolobium cyclocarpa
enteron
enteropathy
enteroptosis
enterostenosis
enterostomy
enterotomy
enterotoxemia
enterotoxin
enterovirus
enterprise
enterprise zone
enterpriser
enterprisingness
entertainer
entertainment
entertainment center
entertainment deduction
entertainment industry
enthalpy
enthrallment
enthronement
enthronisation
enthronization
enthusiasm
enthusiast
enticement
entire
entire leaf
entireness
entirety
entitlement
entity
entlebucher
entoblast
entoderm
entoloma
entoloma aprile
entoloma lividum
entoloma sinuatum
entolomataceae
entombment
entomion
entomologist
entomology
entomophobia
entomophthora
entomophthoraceae
entomophthorales
entomostraca
entoparasite
entopic pregnancy
entoproct
entoprocta
entourage
entozoan
entozoon
entr'acte
entrails
entrance
entrance exam
entrance examination
entrance fee
entrance hall
entrance money
entrancement
entranceway
entrant
entrapment
entreaty
entrecote
entree
entremets
entrenching tool
entrenchment
entrepot
entrepreneur
entresol
entric
entropy
entry
entry word
entryway
entsi
entsy
envelopment
environment
equal temperament
equatorial current
equipment
equivalent
escapement
escarpment
espionage agent
establishment
estate agent
estrangement
event
ex-president
excitement
excrement
execution of instrument
executive department
executive office of the president
executive vice president
expedient
experiment
exponent
extension agent
extent
extolment
eye movement
fair-trade agreement
falciform ligament
false imprisonment
famishment
fatal accident
fbi agent
federal agent
federal department
federal government
feeling of movement
female parent
feminist movement
ferment
fertile crescent
fetal movement
field event
field tent
fifth amendment
fifty percent
figment
filament
final judgment
final payment
financial statement
fire department
firmament
first amendment
first moment
first rudiment
fitment
fixing agent
floral arrangement
flower arrangement
fluorescent
fly in the ointment
fly tent
foetal movement
foreign agent
foreign correspondent
foreign direct investment
form of government
foster-parent
foster parent
foundation garment
fourteenth amendment
fragment
fraud in the inducement
free-reed instrument
free agent
freedom from cruel and unusual punishment
freight agent
frontier settlement
fulfillment
fulfilment
full complement
full employment
full treatment
fundament
game equipment
garden current
garment
garnishment
gay liberation movement
gender agreement
general agent
genetic endowment
gent
gentlemen's agreement
ghent
glove compartment
godparent
golf equipment
government
government agent
government department
grad student
gradient
graduate student
grammatical constituent
grandparent
grave accent
gravity gradient
great grandparent
ground rent
gun emplacement
habiliment
happy event
harassment
hearing impairment
heat content
heating element
heir apparent
hereditament
historical document
historical present
history department
holy sacrament
hood ornament
house agent
houses of parliament
housing and urban development
housing development
humboldt current
hutment
hydraulic cement
hypoglycaemic agent
hypoglycemic agent
identity element
ill-treatment
immediate constituent
immediate payment
immunizing agent
immurement
impairment
impalement
impeachment
impediment
impingement
implement
impoundment
impoverishment
impressment
imprisonment
improvement
incasement
incident
incitement
income statement
incompetent
increment
incumbent
indent
independent
indian agent
indictment
indorsement
inducement
indument
industrial management
inevitable accident
infectious agent
infective agent
informed consent
infotainment
infringement
ingredient
inhuman treatment
innocent
inpatient
inquiry agent
insect repellent
insolvent
installment
instalment
instillment
instilment
instrument
instrument of punishment
insulin shock treatment
insurance agent
insurgent
integument
intellectual nourishment
intelligence agent
intelligence quotient
intent
interior department
interment
internal revenue agent
international bank for reconstruction and development
internment
intrenchment
inverse cotangent
inverse tangent
investment
involvement
islamic resistance movement
japan current
john singer sargent
judgement
judgment
jument
justice department
juvenile delinquent
kent
keyboard instrument
kuroshio current
labor agreement
labor department
labor movement
lament
land agent
land development
land of enchantment
language requirement
last judgement
last judgment
latent content
laundry detergent
lautaro faction of the united popular action movement
lautaro youth movement
law agent
law enforcement
law of independent assortment
law student
lean-to tent
legal document
legal instrument
lent
lethal agent
letter of intent
letters patent
licensing agreement
life imprisonment
ligament
line management
line of descent
lineament
linguistics department
liniment
liquid detergent
literary agent
literary argument
living arrangement
local department
local government
lodgement
lodgment
logic element
logical argument
logistic assessment
loment
lorenzo the magnificent
lubavitch movement
luggage compartment
magnetic dipole moment
magnetic moment
maladjustment
malcontent
male parent
malignment
malnourishment
maltreatment
management
marriage settlement
mathematical statement
mathematics department
maturement
measurement
measuring instrument
medical instrument
medical student
medicament
medicare payment
member of parliament
mental measurement
mercantile establishment
mercurial ointment
merger agreement
merriment
metallic element
metrazol shock treatment
michelson-morley experiment
micronutrient
militainment
military government
mill agent
milliequivalent
misalignment
misgovernment
mismanagement
misplacement
misstatement
mistreatment
moment
monument
mountain tent
movement
multiple correlation coefficient
municipal government
murder indictment
music department
musical accompaniment
musical arrangement
musical instrument
mustard agent
narcotics agent
national monument
natural endowment
natural event
naval equipment
navigational instrument
navy department
negotiable instrument
nerve agent
nerve entrapment
neuroleptic agent
neuromuscular blocking agent
new testament
news event
newsagent
newspaper advertisement
nineteenth amendment
non-engagement
non-involvement
non-ionic detergent
nonaccomplishment
nonachievement
nonalignment
nonalinement
nondevelopment
nonevent
nonpayment
nonrapid eye movement
nonresident
north american free trade agreement
north equatorial current
nourishment
nuisance abatement
number agreement
nutrient
nutriment
obstruent
obtainment
occident
occurrent
ocean current
oddment
off-line equipment
official document
ointment
old testament
olfactory impairment
one percent
operating statement
opponent
optical instrument
order of payment
organophosphate nerve agent
orient
ornament
orpiment
orthodontic treatment
out-of-court settlement
outer garment
outpatient
overachievement
overgarment
overpayment
overrefinement
overstatement
oxford movement
oxidizing agent
pack tent
parchment
parent
parliament
parliamentary agent
parts department
passing comment
patent
patent infringement
patient
pavement
payment
payroll department
pearson product-moment correlation coefficient
pediment
pendent
penitent
peppercorn rent
percent
percipient
percussion instrument
percussive instrument
periodic event
periodic movement
permanent
person agreement
personal judgement
personal judgment
personality assessment
personnel department
peruvian current
phi coefficient
philosophy department
photographic equipment
photopigment
physics department
picture element
pigment
pilot experiment
pitch accent
placement
plant department
plasma thromboplastin antecedent
plot element
police department
political dissident
political movement
pop tent
portent
portland cement
postponement
power of appointment
preachment
prearrangement
precedent
predicament
preferment
prejudgement
prejudgment
prepayment
present
present moment
presentiment
presentment
president
press agent
principle of liquid displacement
procurement
product-moment correlation coefficient
product development
profit-and-loss statement
pronouncement
propellent
property settlement
proponent
protective embankment
protective garment
psychological moment
psychology department
psychomotor development
psychosexual development
psychotropic agent
public easement
punishment
pup tent
puppet government
purchase agreement
purchasing agent
purchasing department
puzzlement
pyramidal tent
queen regent
quotient
rack rent
radiotherapy equipment
raiment
rank-difference correlation coefficient
rank-order correlation coefficient
rapid eye movement
rapprochement
rare-earth element
rate of payment
ravishment
raw talent
re-establishment
reading assignment
readjustment
reagent
real estate agent
reallotment
reapportionment
rearmament
rearrangement
reassessment
reassignment
recent
recipient
recommencement
recording equipment
recruitment
recurrent event
red cent
redeployment
redevelopment
reducing agent
reed instrument
reenactment
reenforcement
reenlistment
referent
refinement
reform movement
refreshment
refurbishment
regent
regiment
regression coefficient
regular payment
reimbursement
reinforcement
reinstatement
religious movement
relinquishment
remitment
renouncement
rent
repayment
repellent
replacement
replenishment
requirement
rescue equipment
resentment
resettlement
reshipment
resident
resolvent
respiratory quotient
respondent
restatement
restriction fragment
retardent
retinal detachment
retirement
retrenchment
return on investment
revenue enhancement
revetement
revetment
revilement
rhode island bent
ribbon development
rigil kent
ring containment
rip current
river trent
road agent
robotics equipment
rocket propellent
rockwell kent
rodent
romantic movement
rubber cement
rubefacient
rudiment
sacrament
saint vincent
salafi movement
sales agreement
sales department
sales event
salient
sanitation department
sargent
scale of measurement
scent
school assignment
school superintendent
scientific instrument
sea serpent
sealed instrument
sealskin tent
seasonal adjustment
secernment
second advent
second moment
secondment
secret agent
secretary of housing and urban development
secretary of state for the home department
security department
sediment
segment
self-abasement
self-aggrandisement
self-aggrandizement
self-effacement
self-fulfillment
self-government
self-improvement
self-punishment
self-torment
selling agent
senior moment
senior vice president
sense of movement
sensing element
sent
sentiment
serpent
service department
settlement
severance agreement
sexual harassment
shark repellent
shelter tent
shipment
shipping agent
shock treatment
sibley tent
silent treatment
single-reed instrument
single supplement
smoking compartment
social event
social movement
sociology department
solacement
solent
solitary confinement
solvating agent
solvent
sorbent
sound judgement
sound judgment
south equatorial current
spatial arrangement
special agent
special assessment
specious argument
sports equipment
sports implement
spousal equivalent
spouse equivalent
st. vincent
standard of measurement
state department
state government
statement
station agent
stent
stepparent
stop payment
stringed instrument
student
studio apartment
subcontinent
succulent
summary judgement
summary judgment
summary treatment
superintendent
supplement
support payment
surface-active agent
surgical instrument
surveying instrument
surveyor's instrument
sustainment
swimming event
system of measurement
tacit consent
talent
talent agent
tangent
tapotement
tashkent
taskent
tax assessment
tectonic movement
tegument
telecom equipment
telecommunication equipment
television equipment
temperament
temperature gradient
temporal arrangement
temporary expedient
ten percent
tenement
tent
term of enlistment
test equipment
testament
tetrachoric correlation coefficient
theatrical agent
thermionic current
three-day event
threshold element
thrombolytic agent
ticket agent
tidal current
time-delay measuring instrument
token payment
toll agent
tonic accent
torment
torrent
tournament
trace element
track event
trade union movement
traducement
transfer agent
transfer payment
transient
transit instrument
transshipment
transuranic element
travel agent
travel reimbursement
treasury department
treatment
trent
trident
troop movement
true statement
tupac amaru revolutionary movement
twenty-five percent
twenty percent
two-man tent
u.s. government
umbrella tent
underachievement
undercover agent
undercurrent
underdevelopment
undergarment
underlayment
undernourishment
underpayment
understatement
unearned increment
unemployment
unenlightenment
unfavorable judgment
unguent
unilateral descent
unit of measurement
united states government
united states president
universal agent
universal solvent
university student
us government
value judgement
value judgment
value statement
varment
velvet bent
vent
vestment
viatical settlement
viaticus settlement
vice-regent
vice president
vicegerent
video equipment
visual impairment
vol-au-vent
walk-up apartment
wall tent
war correspondent
war department
washington monument
water development
weapons emplacement
wedding present
weldment
wetting agent
wind instrument
wisent
women's liberation movement
wonderment
woodwind instrument
word accent
working agreement
world tamil movement
worriment
writing assignment
writing implement
written agreement
written assignment
written document
youth movement
zinc ointment
zionist movement