March 26, 1969
(Regarding the French translation of two letters of Sri
Aurobindo about the Ashram, which Mother wants
to publish in the next Bulletin.)
"If anybody in the Ashram tries to establish a supremacy or dominating influence over others, he is in the wrong. For it is bound to be a wrong vital influence and come in the way of the Mother’s work.
"All the work should be done under the Mother’s sole authority. All must be arranged according to her free decision. She must be free to use the capacities of each separately or together according to what is best for the work and best for the worker.
"None should regard or treat another member of the Ashram as his subordinate. If he is in charge, he should regard the others as his associates and helpers in the work, and he should not try to dominate or impose on them his own ideas and personal fancies, but only see to the execution of the will of the Mother. None should regard himself as a subordinate, even if he has to carry out instructions given through another or to execute under supervision the work he has to do.
"All should try to work in harmony, thinking only of how best to make the work a success; personal feelings should not be allowed to interfere, for this is a most frequent cause of disturbance in the work, failure or disorder.
"If you keep this truth of the work in mind and always abide by it, difficulties are likely to disappear; for others will be influenced by the rightness of your attitude and work smoothly with you or, if through any weakness or perversity in them, they create difficulties, the effects will fall back on them and you will feel no disturbance or trouble."
Sri Aurobindo (25.238-239),
October 12, 1929
"What seems to me of more importance is to try to explain how things are worked out here. Indeed very few
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are the people who understand it and still fewer those who realise it.
"There has never been, at any time, a mental plan, a fixed programme or an organisation decided beforehand. The whole thing has taken birth, grown and developed as a living being by a movement of consciousness (Chit-Tapas) constantly maintained, increased and fortified …."
Sri Aurobindo (25.227)
August 22, 1939
What’s the meaning of "Maintained"?
He means that the movement of consciousness never ceased at any time. We didn’t have a "movement of creation" and then stopped, and started again: the consciousness consciously re- creates, so to speak, continues its creation; it’s not something done that develops from that point on.
Constantly renewed?
"Renewed" gives the impression that there was a stop. It’s not that. It CONTINUES to be like that. It’s the consciousness constantly at work, not as a sequel of what was there before, but as a result of what it perceives every instant. In the mental movement, there is the consequence of what you’ve done before – it’s not that, it’s the consciousness which CONSTANTLY sees what has to be done. It’s extremely important to understand that, because that’s how it’s still working-for everything. It’s not at all a "formation" whose development you must look after: it’s the consciousness which, every second, follows – follows its own movement. That allows everything! It’s precisely what allows miracles, reversals, and so on – it allows everything. It’s the very opposite of human creations. It was like that, it continues to be like that, and it will always be like that so long as I am here.
***
Soon afterwards
I have to tell you about P.L.
Oh, I got your note yesterday.
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There are important things …. You know that the Pope has set
up a "Reform Committee" for the Church, and PL. is on it. For
a few months he was asked to go and carry out "opinion polls"
here and there (in Portugal, Spain, etc.), so as to study possible
reforms. Following those opinion polls, the Committee met in
Rome with the Monsignors and Cardinals. And there, PL. came
flat out with it all!
Bah! … (Mother laughs)
Because some five or six months ago, I wrote to him a few reflec
tions of yours about Christianity. I wrote him that, developing
it (it really came to me). [[We publish in Addendum extracts from this letter. ]] And then he came out with it all!
What! Bah-bah!
Here’s his letter:
"I can finally write to you with the calm and tenderness that
spring from my soul, which is truly reaching out towards
Sweet Mother and tuned to her. She gave me a spiritual joy
that has not left me since I have known her.
"These last few days, Mother’s presence has revealed itself
in my being and activities, stronger and more VISIBLE. In the
polls commission, of which you know I am a member at the
Pope’s pleasure, I felt the other day an irrepressible force in
my breast: I had to speak out. I knew that my words would
cause a scandal in the meeting. The little voice was telling
me, ‘Now is the time, cry out the message Mother has given
you; do not fear, she is with you.’ And I spoke, to the great
consternation of those present. ‘Listen to me, all of you. The
only thing that could open up Christianity (because it’s
closed in on itself, turned towards the past, and therefore
immutable, unprogressive: there is the seed of its own death
and decomposition), the only thing would be for it to admit
a force from the FUTURE ….’ Satprem, do you remember
November ’68, the day I sent you that article on the crisis
of Christianity. I went on: ‘There are new forces and new
facts. Someone has said it’ (I did not name Sri Aurobindo,
following your same letter), ‘and has spoken of the SUPRA
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MENTAL, but the word, the form or terms matter little.’ (There
I quoted you again.) ‘If only Christianity could admit, for
instance, Christ’s reincarnation, or a second, FUTURE Christ,
it would be saved, its attitude would be open instead of
being closed. That is the crux of the whole matter, and beat
ing about the bush, carrying out all kinds of reform and
modernization is nothing, it only touches appearances, and
unless we touch this center … But of course, it instantly
means heresy! Yet there is the only salvation for the Church,
the only thing that really needs rethinking. All the rest is
chatter …. We have shut everything up: we are the "deposi
taries of the faith" – Depositum Fidei! And nothing to add.
Does it mean that Christ died without leaving any possibi
lity to add to his message? But we aren’t the same men as
in Palestine. We have limited the Divine’s powers. We have
forbidden Christ any expansion. We have locked him up and
thrown the key into the sea …..
"The silence was dense, the stupefaction huge. And I went
on again: ‘But we believe we are the interpreters, and except
us none has the right to speak. Nevertheless we are faced
with the current phenomenon of anti-establishment protest.
The youth is running away from us, our formulas are old,
ineffective, we preach without conviction, we demand absurd
things, and to have peace, we stick a label of "sin" on all
taboos. I know that my speech will be called subversive. In
dictatorial or established regimes, those who move forward
are suspicious. For twenty centuries we have used the weapon
of heresy, and we know the atrocities that were committed
in the name of Christ: that was our defense – it was his
wisdom to keep power But if Christ suddenly appeared here,
in front of us, do you think he would recognize himself in
us? Is the Christ we preach the Christ of the BEATITUDES?
Our preoccupation is to prohibit opening. And we make
fools of ourselves with the pill. But are we also preoccupied
with the TRUTH? … Yet we should read our holy books again,
but read them without passion, without egoistic interest;
almost two thousand years ago, St. Paul said, "Multifariam,
multisque modis olim Deus loquens in prophetis, novis
sime diebus istis locutus est nobis in Filio" (several times
and in several ways God has spoken through the prophets,
but now in these last days he has spoken to us through his
Son Jesus Christ …). Thus God has spoken "in several ways."
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I know that a new light has just appeared, a new Conscious
ness – let us go in search of it. But we shall have to step down
from our throne, from our convenience; perhaps to leave the
place to others and do away with the Hierarchy: no more
Pope or Cardinals or Bishops, but all of us seekers of the
TRUTH, of the CONSCIOUSNESS, the PowER, the SUPRANATURAL,
the SUPRAHUMAN …..
‘Satprem, I left the room and went away … for a walk in
the countryside …. What is going to happen to me? Will they
put me on trial? Will they declare me insane, heretic? I am
waiting. I am eager to go and see Mother. I am preparing my
travel for Easter …. (That took place on Monday the 24th of
February.) To this day, no reaction. Has the Pope been
informed? I do not know. I have continued with the inquiry
entrusted to me. I feel very calm, very strong. I have not
spoken about all that to any of those close to me (not even
to Msgr. R.). The malefic character seen in dream (Msgr. Z)
was present, but he did not react either.
"I wrote to you from Paris on Monday, March 4; then I
only told you about my situation, having no time to relate
what I have now written. I came back to Rome on the 12th;
as I have told you, no reaction, no admonition. I am sim
ply going on with my work. Lacking time, I did not write
earlier, and I wanted to see if my situation would change.
Nothing. We are meeting again on March 24.
‘So I am here, waiting, very much tuned to Mother.
(Rome, March 18, 1969)
(long concentration)
It’s good.
***
ADDENDUM
(Extracts from a letter from Satprem to P.L., following the conver
sation of November 2, 1968, in which Mother spoke about
the future of Christianity. See Agenda IX under that date.)
November 26, 1968
… Thank you for the photos and the interesting article on the crisis of the Church." In this connection, Mother told me that the
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only thing that could open up Christianity (because it is closed in on itself, turned towards the past, and therefore immutable, unprogressive, that is the germ of its death and its decomposition), the only thing would be for it to admit a Force from the Future. Sri Aurobindo spoke of the supramental, but the form or the terms matter little; if only Christianity could admit, for instance, the reincarnation of Christ, or a second, future Christ, it would be saved – its attitude would be open instead of being closed. That’s the crux of the whole matter, and beating about the bush, carrying out all kinds of reform and modernization is nothing, it only touches appearances, leaving this center untouched. But of course, it instantly means heresy! Yet, there is the only salvation for the Church, the only thing that really needs rethinking. All the rest is chatter and papering over the old cracks.
Your photo of Msgr. Z fitted precisely with the vision! Now you have nothing to fear anymore. Simply keep me informed if you notice outer changes in this person ….
The disciple who had the vision wanted me to ask you if you happen to carry Mother’s symbol or something of her around your neck? Because he saw you with this symbol around your neck …. He told me that the basilica where the photo of this Msgr. Z was taken had very much the vibration of a haunted place! Poor Church …. You are indeed courageous, dear P.L., and you are silently doing a great and good work for the world.
S.
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