February 11, 1966
(Mother carries on with her translation of “Savitri”: the vision of the plane where all the formations of the human mind are found.)
All things the past has made and slain were there [[As if lost remnants of forgotten light, Before her mind there fled with trailing wings Dimmed revelations and delivering words Emptied of their mission and their strength to save The messages of the evangelist gods, Voices of prophets, scripts of vanishing creeds. (X.IV.642) ]]
Quite interestingly, I am following all these experiences of Savitri. The experience of those different joys, I was surprised to have it a few days ago; I said to myself, “Strange, why am I made to see the joy in all those things: the joy of destroying, the joy of creating, the joy of laboring and conquering, and all of it?” I was very surprised, and then …
Just last night, I must have been going about for some time among all human constructions, but those of a higher quality, not the ordinary constructions (those Sri Aurobindo refers to here: the philosophical, religious, spiritual constructions …). And they were symbolized by huge buildings – huge – that were so high … as if men were as tall as the edge of this stool, quite tiny, in comparison with those huge things – huge, huge. I was going about, and each person came (I saw now one come, now another), each person came saying, “Mine is the true path.” So I would go with him to an open door through which an immense landscape could be seen, and just when we came to the door, it would close!
It was really very interesting. With all sorts of diverse details, each one with his own habits. I have forgotten the details now, but when I came out of that place last night, in the middle of the night, I was quite amused, I said to myself, “It’s quite amusing!” You know, when they spoke you could see through a door vast expanses before you, in full light, it was superb; then I would go with that person towards the door and … the door was closed. It was really interesting.
And so large, so large, so high – we were very small.
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There was no end to them…. And there were people, always new people: now men, now women, now young people, now old people, and from every possible country. It lasted a very long time.
I remember that I said to one of them, “Yes, all this is very fine, but it isn’t true food, it leaves you famished.” Then there was one who was … I don’t know which country he was from: he wore a dark robe, he had black hair, a somewhat round face (he may have been a Chinese, I can’t say, I don’t remember). He said to me, “Oh, not with me! Taste this and see.” And he gave me something to eat – it was absolutely first-rate, oh, it was excellent! So I looked at him, and I said, “Oh, you are clever … show me, show me your path.” He told me, “I have no path.”
Anyway, details … If I noted all that down in the middle of the night, it would be very amusing. It was really amusing. And it corresponds to what we’ve just read in Savitri.
Yes, he was comfortably seated in front of a pillar (a pillar whose end couldn’t be seen; it rose so high that its end couldn’t be seen), and he said to me, “Oh, I have no path.” (Mother laughs) But what he gave to eat was very good! I remember I crunched it, I bit into it, and it had a marvelous taste.
Who could it be?… I don’t know. They must have been known people.
And it was rather strange: I was always a bit taller than all of them, and when I moved about, I did so with much greater speed than they, and I would reach the doors, just about to go through … when they would come along and the door would close!
Very amusing. I could write volumes with all that!
But last night I didn’t understand, I wondered, “Why do I go strolling in such places?” Now I understand!
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