May 29, 1963
I would like a clarification on a passage from a previous conversation [of May 3], in which you said: “Something tries to draw less and less the attention and concentration of others….” And you added: “That is, to lessen the SENSE OF INTERMEDIARY necessary for forces and thoughts to spread….” What is this “sense of intermediary”? Do you mean your “role of intermediary” in the diffusion of forces? Do you want to lessen that role – to withdraw?
It isn’t "role"! The role is a fact, a sort of ineluctable fact,
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absolutely independent of the individual will and consciousness – I am more and more convinced of it, fantastically so. The Work is done through a certain number of elements – whether they are aware of it or not, whether they collaborate or not makes little difference. It has been decided that way, it has been chosen that way and it is done that way. Whether you like it or not, whether you are aware of it or not, whether you collaborate or not – very little difference. It’s more a question of personal satisfaction!
And inasmuch 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 that’s all that is needed.
The less the consciousness is turned to the outside, the less it perceives obstacles, resistances – all that appears more and more unreal, transient, extremely relative.
In the necessary and unavoidable everyday contact with people, there is a growing perception that whatever the circumstance (which in itself is so simple, simpler than a child, you know – a perfect simplicity), as soon as it comes into contact with the terrestrial human atmosphere, it becomes ever so complicated! And quite unnecessarily. It seems as if the normal human occupation is to complicate all that could be extremely simple. I see this day after day, for all the small events of every day, of each and every minute. With certain consciousnesses – as soon as it touches certain consciousnesses – it is twisted, sometimes into terrible knots. Then it takes a fantastic labor to undo it – the whole thing PERFECTLY unnecessary!
These last few days, in fact, I have been observing it all and wondering, “Why are things this way? …” It must have been the means – probably the most effective means, I don’t know – to emerge from inertia, from tamas. If everything worked in that Simplicity, that perfect Quietness, well, human consciousness would be in such a state that it would have simply fallen asleep. It would have reached the state … not even of an animal, perhaps of a slumbering plant!
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That must be the reason.
But when you see it from the other side, it’s so absurd – fantastically absurd! To such a point that the meaning of every single word you utter is immediately twisted – automatically, you can’t say why. With something clear and obvious, which should have gone smoothly, without hurdles, you are immediately caught in a swirl of complications.
All, all, all activities, all of life is like that.
And then there are little nuances, little differences, which naturally assume considerable proportions in those distorted consciousnesses: they say, “Oh, now everything is fine,” and then, “Oh, now everything is going wrong,” but that’s not true! It’s always the SAME thing, only with little nuances.
But the true everything is fine, THE TRUE THING as it is, is so simple! So simple, so quiet, so immediate, so direct that it’s almost unthinkable for human thought, much less for human sensation. Voilà.
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