Works of Sri Aurobindo

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Prayers  

 

PRAYER AND CALLING THE DIVINE 

 

      The whole of our life should be a prayer offered to the Divine.

 

      Integral prayer: the whole being is concentrated in a single prayer to the Divine.

 

      When coming out of sleep you must keep quiet for a few moments and consecrate the coming day to the Divine, praying to remember Him always and in all circumstances.

      Before going to sleep you must concentrate for a few minutes, look into the day that has passed, remember when and where you have forgotten the Divine, and pray that such forgettings should not happen again.

31 August 1953 

      When waking up every morning, let us pray for a day of complete consecration.

19 June 1954 

      Let us pray with all our heart that the divine work may be accomplished.  

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      All sincere prayers are granted, but it may take some time to realise materially.

28 June 1954

      All sincere prayers are granted, every call is answered.

21 July 1954

      Sincere calls surely are heard and receive an answer.

 

      We ought to be in a constant state of aspiration, but when we cannot aspire let us pray with the simplicity of a child.

25 July 1954

      We pray that the Divine should teach us ever more, enlighten us more and more, dispel our ignorance, illumine our minds.

2 November 1954

      It is never in vain that an ardent and sincere prayer is addressed to the Divine’s Grace.

19 December 1954

      The Supreme is divine knowledge and perfect unity; at each moment of the day let us call to Him so that we may be nothing else than Himself.

20 December 1954

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When, in our despair, we cry to the Divine, always He answers to our call.

21 December 1954

 We pray to the Divine to accept the ardent flame of our gratitude and of our joyous and fully confident adherence.

27 December 1954 

Sri Aurobindo says in one letter:

       “All prayer rightly offered brings us closer to the Divine and establishes right relation with him.”

       What is meant by “rightly offered” in this letter? Will You please elucidate?

 

With humility and sincerity.

      It goes without saying that all bargaining spirit is an insincerity that takes away all value from the prayer.

8 May 1968

      Nothing is difficult for those who call sincerely the Divine.

28 January 1973  

PRAYERS

 

      To complete what I told you yesterday about Radha’s dance I have noted this down as an indication of the thought and feeling Radha must have within her when she stands at the end in front of Krishna:  

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      “Every thought of my mind, every emotion of my heart, every movement of my being, every feeling and every sensation, each cell of my body, each drop of my blood, all, all is yours, yours absolutely, yours without reserve. You can decide my life or my death, my happiness or my sorrow, my pleasure or my pain; whatever you do with me, whatever comes to me from you will lead me to the Divine Rapture.”

12 January 1932  

RADHA’S PRAYER

 

      O Thou whom at first sight I knew for the Lord of my being and my God, receive my offering.

      Thine are all my thoughts, all my emotions, all the sentiments of my heart, all my sensations, all the movements of my life, each cell of my body, each drop of my blood. I am absolutely and altogether Thine, Thine without reserve. What Thou wilt of me, that I shall be. Whether Thou choosest for me life or death, happiness or sorrow, pleasure or suffering, all that comes to me from Thee will be welcome. Each one of Thy gifts will be always for me a gift divine bringing with it the supreme Felicity.

13 January 1932

      My Lord, make me entirely Thine.

 

      My Lord, let me be entirely and sincerely yours.  

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      O Lord, give me a perfect sincerity.

      O Lord, let me be perfectly yours for ever.

 

      Aspiration addressed to the Supreme:

      Let all in me be always at Your service.

 

      O Lord, awaken in me an ardent desire to know Thee.

      I aspire that my life may be consecrated to Thy service.

 

      Let me always follow Thy divine Guidance. Let me be aware of my true destiny.

1 January 1934

      O Lord, Thy sweetness has entered into my soul, and Thou hast filled all my being with joy.

14 April 1935

      My heart is at peace, my mind is free from impatience, and in all things I rely on Thy will with the smiling confidence of a child.

 

      My Lord, every day, in all circumstances, let me repeat with the full sincerity of my heart, “May Thy Will be done and not mine.”

5 November 1941 

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      Lord, with all my soul I want to accomplish what Thou directest me to do.

5 November 1943

      My Lord, deliver me from all vanity; make me humble and sincere.

5 November 1944

      O Lord, most humbly I pray that I may be at the height of my endeavour, that nothing in me, conscious or unconscious, may betray Thee by failing to serve in Thy sacred mission.

With a solemn devotion I salute Thee.

 

A daily prayer

 

      O Lord, let me be free from fear and worry so that I can always serve you to the best of my ability.

 December 1948 

      Lord, give me the strength of a total and perfect sincerity that I may be worthy of Thy Realisation.

15 August 1950

      O my heart, be great enough for the Victory.

 

      My heart aspires to be vast enough for Thy Victory.

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      I aspire to be delivered from all egoistic weakness and all unconscious insincerity.

31 December 1950

      Lord, grant that my vision of things may be direct and objective and my acts be completely transformed by it.

 

      Lord, grant that a stupidity once committed and recognised may never be repeated.

 

      My Lord, grant me this quiet trust in Thee which overcomes all the difficulties.

 

      Grant me a quiet trust, a peaceful strength, an ardent faith and devotion.

 

      Lord, grant that I may be entirely and eternally faithful to Thee.

 

      Lord, grant me this Grace, that I may never forget Thee.

December 1958 

      My Lord, make the consciousness clear and precise, the speech thoroughly true, the surrender complete, the calm absolute  

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and transform the whole being into an ocean of light and love.

 

      Make me entirely transparent so that my consciousness may unite with Thine.

      I aspire to place at Thy feet all the riches of this world.

 

      O Lord, I pray to Thee, guide my footsteps, enlighten my mind, that at every moment and in all things I may do exactly what Thou wantest me to do.

16 January 1962

      Lord, give me perfect sincerity, that sincerity which will lead me straight to Thee.

August 1962

      Lord, give me Thy blessings that I may become more and more sincere.

18 July 1967

      Lord, give me the real happiness, that which depends only upon Thee.  

 

 

Prayer for 1971 

      O Lord, let me be what you want me to be.

5 March 1971 

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      I belong to Thee. And I wish to know Thee so that all that I do may be only what Thou wantest me to do.

24 June 1972

      Lord of Mercy, make me worthy of Thy Grace.

27 October 1972 

Morning and Evening Prayer

 

      Lord, I want to be Yours and worthy of You; make me Your ideal child.  

 

Morning 

      O my Lord, my Sweet Mother,

      Let me be Yours, absolutely Yours, perfectly Yours.

      Your force, Your light and Your love will protect me against all evils.  

 

Midday 

      O my Lord, Sweet Mother,

      I am Yours and pray to be more and more perfectly Yours.  

 

Night  

      O my Lord, Sweet Mother,

      Your force is with me, Your light and Your love, and You will save me from all difficulties.  

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      My sweet Lord, my little Mother,

      Give me the true love, the love that forgets itself.

 

      My Lord, my Mother,

      You are always with me with your blessings and your grace.

      Your Presence is the supreme protection.

 

      Remember that the Mother is always with you.

      Address Her as follows and She will pull you out of all difficulties:

      “O Mother, Thou art the light of my intelligence, the purity of my soul, the quiet strength of my vital, the endurance of my body. I rely on Thee alone and want to be entirely Thine. Make me surmount all obstacles on the way.”

 

      I have a sweet little Mother

      Who lives in my heart;

      We are so happy together,

      We shall never part.

 

      My Lord, Thou hast given me tonight this supreme knowledge.

      We are living only because such is Thy will.

      We shall die only if it be Thy will.

        2 March 1934  

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      To will what Thou willest always in all circumstances, is the only way of enjoying an unshakable peace.

 

      Lord, give us true happiness, the happiness that depends on Thee alone.

1940

      Lord, give us the indomitable courage that comes from a perfect trust in Thee.

4 April 1942

      Lord, give us the strength to live integrally the ideal we proclaim.

 

      Give us faith in a glorious future and the capacity to realise it.

 

      Lord, let consciousness and peace increase in us so that more and more we may be the faithful intermediaries of Thy one divine law.

31 December 1951

      Lord, let nothing in us obstruct Thy work.

February 1952 

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      Lord, deliver us from falsehood, make us emerge in Thy truth pure and worthy of Thy victory.

 

      O Marvellous Grace, let our aspiration be always more intense, our faith always more vibrant, our trust always more absolute.

      Thou art the All-Victorious !

1956

      Supreme Lord, teach us to be silent so that in silence we may receive Thy force and understand Thy will.

11 February 1972

      Teach us to be really sincere in our effort towards the Truth.

 

      Lord, Supreme Truth,

      We aspire to know Thee and to serve Thee.

      Help us to become children worthy of Thee.

      And for this, make us conscious of Thy constant gifts so that gratitude may fill our hearts and govern our lives.

 

      Lord, Thy Love is so great, so noble and so pure that it is beyond our comprehension. It is immeasurable and infinite: on bended knees we must receive it, and yet Thou hast made it so sweet that even the weakest among us, even a child, can approach Thee.

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      With a calm and pure devotion we salute Thee and recognise Thee as the only reality of our being.

 

      Lord, God of Beauty and Harmony,

      Grant that we may become instruments worthy of manifesting Thy supreme beauty in the world.

      This is our prayer and our aspiration.

 

      O Supreme Reality, grant that we may live integrally the marvellous secret that is now revealed to us.

 

      Sweet Mother, grant that we may simply be, now and for ever, Thy little children.

 

      Here, each one represents an impossibility to be solved; but since for Thy Divine Grace, O Lord, all is possible, will not Thy work be, in the detail as in the whole, the accomplishment of all these impossibilities transformed into divine Realisations?

 

      O my sweet Master, Thou art the conqueror and the conquest, the victor and the victory !

27 November 1951

      Thy heart is the supreme haven where every care is soothed.  

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Oh, let this heart be wide open, so that all who are in torment may find there a sovereign refuge.

4 December 1951

      Quiet all violence, let Thy love reign.

13 April 1954

      O Lord, let Thy will be done. Thou art the supreme and perfect protection.

 

      O my Lord, with your help and grace what is there to fear !

      You are the supreme protection that defeats all the enemies.

 

      O my Lord, Thy protection is all powerful. It defeats every enemy.

 

      To see Thy Victory in all circumstances is certainly the best way of helping It to come.

 

Addressed to the One Supreme Lord

 

      There is no other sin, no other vice than to be far from Thee.  

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      Lord, without Thee life is a monstrosity. Without Thy Light, Thy Consciousness, Thy Beauty and Thy Force, all existence is a sinister and grotesque comedy.

 

      O Lord, in the depths of all that is, of all that shall be, is Thy divine and unvarying smile.

 

Prayer for Rain 

Rain, Rain, Rain, we want the Rain.

Rain, Rain, Rain, we ask for Rain.

Rain, Rain, Rain, we need the Rain.

Rain, Rain, Rain, we pray for Rain.

 

Prayer to the Sun 

O Sun! our friend,

Disperse the clouds,

Absorb the rain.

We want your rays,

We want your light,

O Sun! our friend.

 

In the name of my Lord,

for the sake of my Lord,

with the will of my Lord,  

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by the power of my Lord,

stop immediately harassing us.  

(About the Mother’s prayer of 8 April 1914¹)

 

Recueillie − collecting from all sides and concentrating in a religious way. In this prayer, at first the thought is in full peace and the heart is collected and concentrated in adoration, and the next time it is the head that is full of adoration and the heart is silent and full of peace.

 

(About the Mother’s prayer of 3 September 1919²)

 

In this prayer it is the Universal Mother in the form of material, terrestrial Nature who is speaking. The meal is the world that she has brought out of the Inconscient by the process of evolution. She wanted to make man the summit of this evolution, the ruler of this world. Throughout the ages she has waited, hoping that man would become fit to fulfil his role and give the divine realisation to the world. But man was so unfit that he was not even willing to submit to the conditions needed to prepare himself for the task, and material Nature, finally convinced that she was on the wrong track, turned directly to the Divine and asked Him to take possession of this world that had been prepared for the divine realisation.

      With this key, the rest is self-explanatory.

 

 ¹Prayers and Meditations, Cent. Vol. 1, p. 121.

 ²Ibid., p. 372.

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(About the Mother’s prayer of 23 October 1937¹)

 

In short I might say that “Réalisation Suprême” for the individual means identification with the Divine and for the collectivity upon earth the advent of the Supramental, the new creation.

      Do not treat this as a dogma, but only as an explanation and “Réalisateur” is the Supreme Power of realisation, the doer and the act.

 

¹ Prayers and Meditations, Cent. Vol. 1, p. 377. 

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