|
Chapter 5
Road to the
Divine
Reveal, who know, the road that I must tread ...
SRI AUROBINDO
What I call "being on the path" is being in a state of consciousness in which only union
with the Divine has any value - this union is the only thing worth living, the sole object
of aspiration. Everything else has lost all value and is not worth seeking, so there is no
longer any question of renouncing it because it is no longer an object of desire.
As long as union with the Divine is not the thing for which one lives, one is not yet on
the path.
THE MOTHER
It is true that the path is very long, but for one who follows it with sincerity, it is really
very interesting. .. .
THE MOTHER
Page-59
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110 Road to the Divine
110 Road to the Divine
Always long, apparently dry at times, but always abundant
in its results.
Drimiopsis kirkii. White
111 Perfect path
For each one it is the path that leads fastest to the Divine.
Coffi-a. White |
This is what we mean by "Divine": all the knowledge we have to
acquire, all the power we have to obtain, all the love we have to
become, all the perfection we have to achieve, all the harmonious
and progressive poise we have to make manifest in light and joy, all
the new and unknown splendours we have to realise.
THE MOTHER
Whatever we see of this Divine and fix our concentrated effort on
it, that we can become or grow into some kind of unity with it or
at the lowest into tune and harmony with it. ... Whatever of it we
*see, we can create or reveal in our conscious nature and being and
can grow into it....
SRI AUROBINDO
111 Perfect path |
Page-60
THE PATH
|
What do you want the Yoga for? To get power? To attain to peace and calm? To serve humanity?
None of these motives is sufficient to show that you are meant for the Path.
The question you are to answer is this: Do you want the Yoga for the sake of the Divine? Is the Divine the supreme fact of your life, so much so that it is simply impossible for you to do without it? Do you feel that your very raison d'etre is the Divine and without it there is no meaning in your existence? If so, then only can it be said that you have a call for the path.
THE MOTHER
"When you come to the Yoga, you must be ready to have all your
mental buildings and all your vital scaffoldings shattered to
pieces. You must be prepared to be suspended in the air with
nothing to support you except your faith. You will have to forget
your past self and its clingings altogether, to pluck it out of your
consciousness and be born anew, free from every kind of
bondage. Think not of what you were, but of what you aspire
to be; be altogether in what you want to realise. Turn from your
dead past and look straight towards the future.
THE MOTHER
HOPE
Our hopes are never too great for manifestation.
We cannot conceive of anything that cannot be done.
THE MOTHER
Yes, you are right to have hope; it is hope that builds happy
futures.
THE MOTHER
112 Hope
Paves life's way
Jacquemontia pentantha.
Violet blue |
 \
112
Hope
|
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113
Repentance
113
Repentance
The first
step towards correcting mistakes
Chloris
barbaea. Reddish brown |
114 Return
114
Return
The
salvation of those who have gone astray .
Cordyline
terminalis. pale mauve |
115
Stages
to the Supreme
115
Stages to the Supreme
We will go
through as many stages as necessary, but we will arrive.
Lupinus.
All colours |
Page-62
ASCENSION
|
There must be an ascension of the whole
being, an ascension of spirit chained here
and trammelled by its instruments and its
environment to sheer Spirit free above, an
ascension of soul towards some blissful Super-
soul, an ascension of mind towards some
luminous Supermind, an ascension of life
towards some vast Super-life, an ascension of
our very physicality to join its origin in some
pure and plastic spirit-substance. And this
cannot be a single swift up soaring but, like the
ascent of the sacrifice described in the Veda, a
climbing from peak to peak in which from
each summit one looks up to the much more
that has still to be done.
SRI AUROBINDO
SOARING
A being free from all bondages, flying from
height to height in a happy seeking for divine
transformation.
THE MOTHER
|
116
Ascension
116
Ascension
Stage by
stage one climbs towards the Consciousness.
Leonotic
nepetifolia. Orange |
117
Soaring
117
Soaring
Take your
flight towards the heights.
Dephinium.
Severalcolours |
Page-63
ASPIRATION
|
118 Aspiration
118 Aspiration
Innumerable, obstinate, repeating itself tirelessly.
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. White with orange
119 Elan of aspiration
Nothing is too high, nothing too far for its insatiable ardour.
Cleome hasslerana. Pink
|
[Aspiration] is the call of the being for higher things - for
the Divine, for all that belongs to the higher or Divine
Consciousness.
SRI AUROBINDO
This taste for supreme adventure is aspiration - an aspiration
that takes hold of you completely and flings you, without
calculation and without reserve and without any possibility of
withdrawal, into the great adventure of the divine discovery,
the great adventure of the divine meeting, the yet greater
adventure of the divine realisation. . . .
THE MOTHER
119
Elan of aspiration
|
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ASPIRATION
|
Aspiration is like an arrow. ... So you aspire, you
want very earnestly to understand, to know, to
enter into the Truth. Yes? And then with that
aspiration you do this {gesture upwards). Your
aspiration rises, rises, rises, rises straight up, very
strong and then it strikes against a kind of— how
to put it? — a lid which is there, hard like iron and
extremely thick, and it does not pass through. And
then you say, "See, what's the use of aspiring? It
brings nothing at all. I meet with something hard
and cannot pass!" But you know about the drop
of water which falls on the rock, it ends up by
making a chasm: it cuts the rock from top to
bottom. Your aspiration is a drop of water which,
instead of falling, rises . . . and when it makes the
hole suddenly it springs up out of this lid and
enters an immensity of light.
THE MOTHER
120 Flame of aspiration
A flame that illumines but does not burn.
Acer. Autumnal colourings
|
120 Flame of aspiration
|
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121 Aspiration for purity
121 Aspiration for purity
Purity is perfect sincerity and one can obtain
it only when the being is entirely consecrated
to the Divine.
Spathiphyllum. Cream white to palegreen
|
122 Aspiration for integral immortality
122 Aspiration for integral immortality
An organised, tenacious and methodical
development of the consciousness.
Aerva tomentosa. White
|
123 Aspiration for the Divine Consciousness
123 Aspiration for the Divine Consciousness
Blossom, 0 precious flower, and never
close again.
Vernonia eleagnaefolia. Pale mauve
|
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124
Triple
aspiration
124
Triple aspiration
Love life
and light, recognising their Master, respond to Sachchidananda.
Capparis
brevispina. White with yellow |
125
Power
of collective aspiration
125 Power
of collective aspiration
A harmonious
collective aspiration can change the course of circumstances.
Hoya
carnosa. Pale pink |
Page-67
ASPIRATION IN THE PHYSICAL
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|
Have you never watched a forest with all its countless
trees and plants simply struggling to catch the light -
twisting and trying in a hundred possible ways just
to be in the sun? That is precisely the feeling of
aspiration in the physical - the urge, the movement,
the push towards the light. Plants have more of it in
their physical being than men. Their whole life is a
worship of light. Light is of course the material
symbol of the Divine, and the sun represents, under
material conditions, the Supreme Consciousness.
The plants have felt it quite distinctly in their own
simple, blind way. Their aspiration is intense, if you
know how to become aware of it.
THE MOTHER
126 Psychic aspiration
Constant, regular, organised, gentle and patient
at the same time, resists all opposition, overcomes
all difficulties.
Ixora chinensis. Pink
127 Mental aspiration
Its expression is precise and clear and very reasonable.
Ixora coccinea. Light yellow
128 Aspiration in the physical
Manifold, simple and joyful.
Ixora coccinea. Deep red
129 Aspiration in the physical for the Supramental
Light
Clustered, persistent, obstinate, organised,
methodical.
Ixora javanica. Orange |
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133 Vital prayer
130 Prayer
Self-giving is true prayer.
Zephyranthes. Several colours
131 Psychic prayer
Spontaneous and fervent.
Zephyranthes. Light pink
132 Mental prayer
Spontaneous in a mind that is aspiring for transformation.
Zephyranthes. Yellow
133 Vital prayer
The vital prays to be purified.
Zephyranthes. Deep pink
134 Integral prayer
The whole being is concentrated in a single prayer to the Divine.
Zephyranthes. White
|
PRAYER
135 Supramental invocation
135 Supramental invocation
The spontaneous attitude of the Supermind towards
the Divine.
Sternbergia lutea. Golden yellow |
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PRAYER
|
Prayer is only a particular form given to ... will, aspiration and
faith.
... Its power and sense is to put the will, aspiration and faith of man
into touch with the divine Will as that of a conscious Being with
whom we can enter into conscious and living relations. ... In
spiritual matters and in the seeking of spiritual gains, this conscious
relation is a great power; it is a much greater power than our own
entirely self-reliant struggle and effort and it brings a fuller spiritual
growth and experience.
SRI AUROBINDO
Here is my constant prayer to our Lord:
"O my beloved Lord, let Thy Will be done. Thy Will alone, without
any resistance or opposition. Thy Will is our happiness and our
security."
THE MOTHER
RELIGIOUS THOUGHT
Religion's real business is to prepare man's mind, life and bodily 136 existence for the spiritual consciousness to take it up; it has to lead him to that point where the inner spiritual light begins fully to emerge. It is at this point that religion must learn to subordinate itself, not to insist on its outer characters, but give full scope to the inner spirit itself to develop its own truth and reality. In the meanwhile it has to take up as much of man's mentality, vitality, physicality as it can and give all his activities a turn towards the spiritual direction, the revelation of a spiritual meaning in them, the imprint of a spiritual refinement, the beginning of a spiritual character.
SRI AUROBINDO
136 Religious thought
Can only be utilised when it is freed from the influence of religions.
Wrightia tinctoria. White
137 True worship
Total and constant, without demand or claim.
Leucas aspera. White |
136 Religious thought
137 True worship |
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ADORATION
|
138
Adoration |
Worship is only the first step on the path of
devotion. Where external worship changes into the inner adoration, real Bhakti
begins; that deepens into the intensity of divine love; that love leads to the
joy of closeness in our relations with the Divine; the joy of closeness passes
into the bliss of union.
SRI AUROBINDO
The aim of Yoga being union, its beginning must
always be a seeking after the Divine, a longing after some kind of touch,
closeness or possession. When this comes on us, ... adoration becomes always
primarily an inner worship; we begin to make ourselves a temple of the Divine,
our thoughts and feelings a constant prayer of aspiration and seeking, our whole
life an external service and worship.
SRI AUROBINDO
138 Adoration
Manifold , smiling,
regular, it offers itself tirelessly.
Cordia sebestena.
Orange |
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DEVOTION
|
139 Devotional attitude
140 Devotion |
141
Conquering fervour
142 Joy of union with the Divine
|
In love for the Divine or for one whom one feels to be divine, the Bhakta feels an intense
reverence for the Lord, 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.
SRI AUROBINDO
The final demand of the Bhakta is simply that
his Bhakti may never cease nor diminish. He
does not ask for heaven or for liberation from
birth or for any other object, but only that his
love may be eternal and absolute.
SRI AUROBINDO
139 Devotional attitude
Modest and self-effacing, it yields remarkable fruit.
Aegle marmelos. Greenish white
140 Devotion
Modest and fragrant, it gives itself without asking anything in return.
Ocimum tenuiflorum. Pale greenish white
141 Conquering fervour
An ardour that fears no obstacles.
Ocimum americanum. White
142 Joy of union with the Divine
Abundantly scented, it fills the heart with joy.
Ocimum basilicum. White
|
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JOY OF UNION WITH THE DIVINE
To see nothing but the Divine, to be at every moment in
union with him, to love him in all creatures and have the
delight of him in all things is the whole condition of [the
God lover's] existence. . . . The joy of heaven and the joy
of earth are only a small shadow of his possessions; for
as he grows into the Divine, the Divine too flows out
upon him with all the light, power and joy of an infinite
existence.
SRI AUROBINDO
SEEKING SUPPORT ONLY IN THE DIVINE
Never seek support elsewhere than in the Divine. Never
seek satisfaction elsewhere than in the Divine. Never seek
the satisfaction of your needs in anyone else than the
Divine — never, for anything at all. All your needs can be
satisfied only by the Divine. All your weaknesses can be
borne and healed only by the Divine. He alone is capable
of giving you what you need in everything, always.
THE MOTHER
143 Right use of the granted Grace
No deformation, no diminution, no exaggeration, a clear sincerity.
Saponaria officinalis. White or pink
144 Seeking for support only in the Divine
The Divine is the only support that never
fails
Solanum seaforthianum. Light lavender |
143 Right use of the granted Grace
144
Seeking for support only in the Divine |
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154
Combined offering of two parts of the being
|
145 Offering
The only offering that truly enriches is one that is
made to the Divine.
Alcea rosea. Several colours
146 Offering of all obscurities
Offer your obscurities sincerely to the Divine and you will be able to receive the Light.
Alcea rosea. Dark purple
147 Psychic offering
This is the spontaneous attitude of the psychic towards the Divine.
Alcea rosea. Light pink
148 Offering of the emotions
Emotions placed at the service of progress.
Alcea rosea. Lavender pink
149 Offering of the vital
The immediate result of conversion.
Alcea rosea. Dark red
150 Integral offering of the vital
An important stage on the way to transformation.
Alcea rosea. White and lavender
151 Offering of the material vital
Indispensable for conversion.
Alcea rosea. Reddish violet
152 Offering of the most material vital
The first step towards transformation.
Alcea rosea. Very dark red
153 Offering of the physical
The proof of the resolution to liberate oneself from the ego. Let the
physical offer itself sincerely to the Divine and it will be transformed.
Alcea rosea. Red
154 Combined offering of two parts of the being
This heralds the progress and effectiveness of the being.
Alcea rosea. Bicoloured
155 Integral offering
The surest way to realisation.
Alcea rosea. White |
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OFFERING
|
Yoga means union with the Divine, and the union is effected through
offering — it is founded on the offering of yourself to the Divine. . . . You
must feel at every step that you belong to the Divine; you must have the
constant experience that, in whatever you think or do, it is always the
Divine Consciousness that is acting through you. You have no longer
anything that you can call your own; you feel everything as coming from
the Divine, and you have to offer it back to its source. When you can
realise that, then even the smallest thing to which you do not usually pay
much attention or care, ceases to be trivial and insignificant; it becomes
full of meaning and it opens up a vast horizon beyond.
THE MOTHER
ENTIRE SELF-GIVING
The Divine gives itself to those who give themselves without reserve and
in all their pans to the Divine. For them the calm, the light, the power,
the bliss, the freedom, the wideness, the heights of knowledge, the seas
of Ananda.
SRI AUROBINDO
[The soul's inherent aspiration] is what comes up when there is the sheer
self-giving, when "I seek you for this, I seek you for that" changes to a
sheer "I seek you for you." It is that marvellous and ineffable absolute
in the Divine that X means when he says, "Not knowledge nor this nor
that, but Krishna." The pull of that is indeed a categorical imperative,
the self in us drawn to the Divine because of the imperative call of the
greater Self, the soul ineffably drawn towards the object of its adoration
because it cannot be otherwise, because it is it and He is He. That is all
about it.
SRI AUROBINDO
156 Unconditional integral offering
The joy of self-offering without asking anything in return.
Ipomoea tricolor 'Pearly Gates'. White
157 Entire self-giving
Completely open, clear and pure.
Ipomoea alba. White
|
156
Unconditional integral offering
157 Entire self-giving
|
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159 Constant remembrance of the Divine
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REMEMBRANCE
It is by the constant remembrance that the being is
prepared for the full opening. By the opening of the
heart the Mother's presence begins to be felt and, by
the opening to her Power above, the Force of the higher
consciousness comes down into the body and works
there to change the whole nature.
SRI AUROBINDO
REMEMBRANCE OF SRI AUROBINDO
Sri Aurobindo came to tell the world of the beauty
of the future that must be realised.
He came to give not a hope but a certitude of the
splendour towards which the world moves. The world
is not an unfortunate accident, it is a marvel which
moves towards its expression.
The world needs the certitude of the beauty of the
future. And Sri Aurobindo has given that assurance.
THE MOTHER
158 Remembrance
Constant remembrance of the Divine is indispensable for transformation. Lycianthes rantonnei. Mauve
159 Constant remembrance of the Divine
Spontaneous and joyful. The ideal condition.
Lonicera japonica. Ivory white
160 Remembrance of Sri Aurobindo
Let us strive to realise the ideal of life he has set before us.
Lobelia erinus 'Cambridge Blue'. Blue
161 Glad remembrance
In activity and in silence, in taking and in giving, always the glad remembrance of Thee.
Clarkia unguiculata 'Rosea plena'. Several colours
|
|
162 Lasting remembrance
162 Lasting remembrance
The remembrance of that which has helped the being to progress.
Myosotis sylvatica. Sky blue
163 Emotional remembrance
Only the circumstances that have helped us in our search for
the should be the object of this remembrance.
Dicentra spectabilis. Rose pink
164 Subconscient remembrance
Must be
purified of all taat is useless.
Cyaoglossurn amabile. Sky blue
|
163 Emotional remembrance
164 Subconscient
remembrance
|
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166 Mental opening
165 Opening
The help is constant in all domains. It is
for us to know how to benefit from it.
Barleria. Many colours
166 Mental opening
The first step of the mind towards transformation.
Barleria prionitis. Golden yellow
167 Emotional opening
The progress of the emotions towards the Divine.
Barleria cristata. White and lavender
|
170
Integral opening of the being to the Divine
168 Opening of the emotional vital
One of the first steps on the way to transformation.
Barleria cristata. Pink
169 Vital opening to the Supramental Light
(No comment)
Barleria. Bluish purple
170 Integral opening of the being to the Divine
The first step of the ascent.
Barleria cristata. White
|
OPENING
Opening is a release of the consciousness
by which it begins to admit into itself the
working of the Divine Light and Power.
THE MOTHER
In this yoga the whole principle is to open
oneself to the Divine Influence. It is there
above you and, if you can once become
conscious of it, you have then to call it
down into you. It descends into the mind
and into the body as Peace, as a Light, as
a Force that works, as the Presence of the
Divine with or without form, as Ananda.
SRI AUROBINDO
What you should do is to throw the doors
of your being wide open to the Divine.
The moment you conceal something, you
step straight into Falsehood. The least
suppression on your part pulls you
immediately down into unconsciousness.
If you want to be fully conscious, be always
in front of the Truth - completely open
yourself and try your utmost to let it see
deep inside you, into every corner of your
being. That alone will bring into you light
and consciousness and all that is most true.
THE MOTHER
Widen yourself to the extreme limit of the
universe . .and beyond.
Always take upon yourself all the necessities
of progress, and resolve them in the ecstasy
of Unity. Then you will be divine.
THE MOTHER
|
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171
Opening to Sri Aurobindo's Force
174 Opening of the material vital to the Light |
175 Integral opening to the Light
171 Opening to Sri Aurobindo's Force
Sri Aurobindo's help is constant. It is for us to know how to receive it.
Thunbergia kirkii. Lavender
172 Opening to the Light
Harmonises with all that can lead towards the Light.
Thunbergia erecta. Several colours
173 Opening of the higher vital to the Light
The vital existing only for the Divine. The vital knowing no other master than the Divine.
Thunbergia erecta. Lavender and white
174 Opening of the material vital to the Light
One of the essential conditions for peace.
Thunbergia erecta. Deep violet
175 Integral opening to the Light
The assurance of the coming peace and joy.
Thunbergia erecta 'Alba'. White |
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RECEPTIVITY
184 Manifold receptivity
|
176 Receptivity
Conscious of the Divine Will and surrendered to it.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. Many colours
177 Psychic receptivity
The psychic responds joyfully to the ascending force.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. Pink or rose pink
178 Receptivity of the supramentalised psychic
This is what happens to the psychic that continues to progress.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. Pink and orange
179 Mental receptivity
Always ready to learn.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. Yellow
180 Emotional receptivity
Emotions wanting to be divinised.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. Lavender pink or mauve
181 Vital receptivity
Happens only when the vital understands that it must be
transformed. The vital blossoms in aspiration for the Divine.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. Dark red or deep violet
182 Physical receptivity
One should have it only towards the Divine.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. Bright red
183 Integral receptivity
The whole being perceives the Divine Will and obeys it.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. White
184 Manifold receptivity
Nothing resists the Light.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. Multicoloured
185 Supramentalised receptivity
The receptivity of tomorrow.
Gladiolus Xhortulanus. Orange |
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186 Broadening of the being
186 Broadening of the being
All the parts of the being broaden in order to progress.
Sinningia speciosa. Many colours
187 Organised emotional broadening
The broadening should not be the result of an instinctive
impulse but of a conscious organisation.
Sinningia speciosa. White and purple
188 Broadening of the most material vital
The limitations of the ego begin to be shaken.
Sinningia speciosa. Purple
189 Blossoming
The result of trust and success.
Tulipa. All colours
|
RECEPTIVITY
Receptivity - the power to receive the Divine Force and to feel its
presence and the presence of the Mother in it and allow it to work,
guiding one's sight and will and action.
SRI AUROBINDO
BROADENING
When the consciousness is narrow and personal or shut in the body,
it is difficult to receive from the Divine - the wider it expands, the
more it can receive. A time comes when it feels as wide as the world
and able to receive all the Divine into itself.
SRJ AUROBINDO
189 Blossoming |
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CONCENTRATION
190 Concentration
190 Concentration
Does not aim at effect, but is simple and persistent.
Euphorbia milii. Bright red |
It is well known that the value of a man is in proportion to his capacity
of concentrated attention; the greater the concentration the more
exceptional is the result, to the extent that a perfect and unfailing
concentrated attention sets the stamp of genius on what is produced.
THE MOTHER
Concentration is a state one must be in continually, whatever the outer
activity. By concentration I mean that all the energy, all the will, all the
aspiration must be turned only towards the Divine and His integral
realisation in our consciousness.
THE MOTHER
Our one objective must be the Divine himself to whom, knowingly or
unknowingly, something always aspires in our secret nature. There must
be a large, many-sided yet single concentration of the thought on the
idea, the perception, the vision, the awakening touch, the soul's realisation of the one Divine. There must be a flaming concentration of
the heart on the All and Eternal and, when once we have found him,
a deep plunging and immersion in the possession and ecstasy of the All-
Beautiful. There must be a strong and immovable concentration of the
will on the attainment and fulfilment of all that the Divine is and a free
and plastic opening of it to all that he intends to manifest in us.
SRI AUROBINDO
TAPASYA
Tapasya is a strong concentration of the energies for a result - but
usually concentration of them in the practice of some discipline for
a spiritual result.
SRI AUROBINDO
Tapasya is the concentration of the will to get the results of sadhana
and to conquer the lower nature.
SRI AUROBINDO
When the will and energy are concentrated and used to control the
mind, vital and physical and change them or to bring down the higher
consciousness or for any other yogic purpose or high purpose, that is
called Tapasya.
SRI AUROBINDO |
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191 Tapasya
A discipline with the aim of realising the Divine.
Datura. White
192 Mental tapasya
The process leading to the goal.
Datura. Yellow
193 Vital tapasya
The vital undergoes a rigorous discipline in order to transform itself.
Datura. White tinged violet
194 Integral tapasya
The whole being lives only to know and serve the Divine.
Datura. White, double |
194 Perfect tapasya
195 Perfect tapasya
That which will reach its goal.
Brugmansia suaveolens. White |
Page-83
DETACHMENT FROM ALL THAT IS NOT THE DIVINE
|
196
Detachment from all that is not the Divine
196 Detachment from all that is not the Divine
A single occupation, a single aim, a single joy
- the Divine.
Ipomoea cairica. Light rose purple or light mauve |
Detachment [from the imperfections and weaknesses of one's
nature] means that one stands back from them, does not
identify oneself with them or get upset or troubled because
they are there, but rather looks on them as something foreign
to one's true consciousness and true self, rejects them and calls
in the Mother's force into these movements to eliminate them
and bring the true consciousness and its movements there.
SRI AUROBINDO
You must always step back into yourself— learn to go deep
within - step back and you will be safe. Do not lend yourself
to the superficial forces which move in the outside world. Even
if you are in a hurry to do something, step back for a while and
you will discover to your surprise how much sooner and with
what greater success your work can be done. If someone is
angry with you, do not be caught in his vibrations but simply
step back and his anger, finding no support or response, will
vanish. Always keep your peace, resist all temptation to lose it.
Never decide anything without stepping back, never speak a
word without stepping back, never throw yourself into action
without stepping back. All that belongs to the ordinary world
is impermanent and fugitive, so there is nothing in it worth
getting upset about. What is lasting, eternal, immortal and
infinite — that indeed is worth having, worth conquering,
worth possessing. It is Divine Light, Divine Love, Divine
Life — it is also Supreme Peace, Perfect Joy and All-Mastery
upon earth....
THE MOTHER
|
Page-84
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RENUNCIATION OF DESIRES
Our renunciation must obviously be an inward renunciation; especially and above all, a renunciation
of attachment and the craving of desire in the senses
and the heart, of self-will in the thought and action
and of egoism in the centre of the consciousness. For
these things are the three knots by which we are bound
to our lower nature and if we can renounce these
utterly, there is nothing else that can bind us.
SRI AUROBINDO
197 Renunciation
of desires
|
197 Renunciation
of desires
197 Renunciation of desires
The essential condition for realisation.
T
ectona grandis. Cream white |
Page-85
RENUNCIATION
|
198 Renunciation of emotional desires
198 Renunciation of emotional desires
Indispensable for transformation.
Angelonia salicariifolia. White with purple
199 Renunciation of vital desires
It has understood the futility of desires.
Angelonia salicariifolia. Purple |
199 Renunciation of vital desires
200 Integral renunciation of vital desires
An indispensable condition for true progress.
Angelonia salicariifolia. White
201 Absence of desire
Luminous and fragrant, it expresses both peace and joy.
Atalantia monophylla. White
|
There is a sovereign royalty in taking no thought
for oneself. To have needs is to assert a weakness; to claim something proves that we lack what
we claim. To desire is to be impotent; it is to re-
cognise our limitations and confess our incapacity
to overcome them. If only from the point of view of a legitimate
pride, man should be noble enough to renounce
desire.
THE MOTHER
All renunciation is for a greater joy yet ungrasped.
Some renounce for the joy of duty done, some for
the joy of peace, some for the joy of God and
some for the joy of self-torture, but renounce
rather as a passage to the freedom and untroubled
rapture beyond.
SRI AUROBINDO
201 Absence of desire |
Page-86
|
ABOLITION OF THE EGO
What we call oneself is only the ego. Our true self is the
Divine.
THE MOTHER
Human nature is shot through in all its stuff with the thread
of the ego; even when one tries to get away from it, it is in
front or could be behind all the thoughts and actions like a
shadow. To see that is the first step, to discern the falsity and
absurdity of the ego-movements is the second, to discourage
and refuse it at each step is the third, - but it goes entirely
only when one sees, experiences and lives the One in
everything and equally everywhere.
SRI AUROBINDO
Our ego, boasting of freedom, is at every moment the slave,
toy and puppet of countless beings, powers, forces, influences
in universal Nature. The self-abnegation of the ego in the
Divine is its self-fulfilment; its surrender to that which
transcends it is its liberation from bonds and limits and its
perfect freedom.
SRI AUROBINDO
There is no happiness in smallness of the being, says the
Scripture, it is with the large being that happiness comes.
The ego is by its nature a smallness of being; it brings con-
traction of the consciousness and with the contraction
limitation of knowledge, disabling ignorance. ... To recover
what is lost we must break out of the worlds of ego.
SRI AUROBINDO
202 Unselfishness
Deeply open so as not to refuse anything.
Beaumontiajerdoniana. White
203 Abolition of the ego
One exists only by the Divine and for the Divine.
Eucalyptus. Cream white
|
UNSELFISHNESS-
202 Unselfishness
203 Abolition of the ego |
Page-87
|
204 Chastity
204 Chastity
A little austere and proud, it is very reserved.
Citrus limon. White
205 Continence
Control over oneself.
Citrus maxima. White
|
CONTINENCE
To be continent is to allow no other
movements in the being (mental, vital and physical) than those strictly
indispensable to manifest the Divine's Will.
THE MOTHER
205 Continence |
Page-88
|
CONTROL
First learn to know yourself perfectly and then to
control yourself perfectly. You will be able to do it by aspiring at every
moment. It is never too early to begin, never too late to continue.
THE MOTHER
You may be sure that becoming conscious of the
Divine Presence in oneself considerably changes one's whole way of being and
gives an exceptional control over all activities, mental, vital and physical.
And this control is infinitely more powerful and luminous than anything one can
obtain through external means.
THE MOTHER
206 Control
Control over the lower impulses is the first step
towards realisation.
Pitcaimia museosa. Bright red
|
206 Control |
page-89
|
|
DISCIPLINE.
Without character, without some kind of high or strong
discipline, there is no enduring power of life.
SRI AUROBINDO
Discipline is indispensable to progress. It is only when one
imposes a rigorous and enlightened discipline on oneself
that one can be free from the discipline of others.
The supreme discipline is integral surrender to the Divine
and to allow nothing else either in one's feelings or one's
activities. Nothing should ever be omitted from this
surrender - this is the supreme and most rigorous discipline.
THE MOTHER
It can be said that any discipline whatsoever, if it is followed
strictly, sincerely, deliberately, is of considerable help, for it
makes the earthly life reach its goal more rapidly and prepares
it to receive the new life. To discipline oneself is to hasten the
arrival of this new life and the contact with the supramental
reality.
THE MOTHER
207 Exclusivism
The inability to do several things at the same time.
Nerine sarniensis. Bright red
208 Discipline
Sets the example and hopes to be followed.
Ocimum basilicum. White
209 Determination
Knows what it wants and does it.
Kopsia fruiticosa. Light pink
|
Page-90
|
210 Resolution
211 Steadfastness
|
212 Application
210 Resolution
Nothing can stop its development.
Brunfelsia americana. White
211 Steadfastness
What it has chosen it keeps and does not like to change.
Psidium guajava. White
212 Application
Modest but harmonious.
Fittonia vershaffeltii. Pale yellow
|
Page-91
REGULARITY
|
213 Regularity
To be
able tobe regular is a great forces, one becomes master of one's
time and one's movement
Sri
Aurobindo |
215 Regularity
|
Page-92
|
213 Regularity
Indispensable for all serious accomplishment.
Martynia annua. Pale pink
214 Regularity
Indispensable for all serious accomplishment.
Digitalis. Several colours
215 Thoroughness
Indispensable for all true progress.
Verbena Xhybrida. Many colours
216 Psychic thoroughness
With tireless patience it works for the perfection of the being.
Verbena Xhybrida. Pink
217 Vital thoroughness
The vital must become calm and docile.
Verbena Xhybrida. Mauve
218 Physical thoroughness
Takes great care of details in the execution of work.
Verbena Xhybrida. Dark red
219 Integral thoroughness
Nothing is neglected in order to reach the divine goal.
Verbena Xhybrida. White
220 Artistic thoroughness
Neglects nothing in its search for perfection.
Verbena Xhybrida. Soft red |
THOROUGHNESS.
215 Thoroughness
|
Page-93
|
222
Attempt
towards continuity
221
Continuity
To know
how to persist in one's effort.
Acakyoha. Several colours
222
Attempt towards continuity
Vigorous
and repeated, but not lasting
Acalypha wilkesiana 'Godseffiana'. Pale green tinged red
223
Vital Continuity
Rich,
aboudant persistent
Acalypha
wilkesiana. Soft pink
224
Physical Continuity
Prolongs
and Prolongs itself and never comes to an end.
Acalypha hispida. Red or purple
225
Material continuity
Powerful,
enduraing, solid.
Acalypha godseffiana. Dull red |
|
Page-94
ENDURANCE
|
235
Endurance of the higher vital
226, Endurance
Going to the end of the effort without fatigue or relaxation.
Zinnia elegans. Many colours
227 Courageous endurance
Strong and energetic, never complains.
Zinnia. elegans. Royal purple
228 Victorious endurance
It will endure till the end of the battle.
Zinnia elegans. Orange
229 Spontaneous endurance
Natural, effortless, smiling.
'
Zinnia elegans. Light green
230 Joyful endurance
Whatever happens, it keeps on smiling.
Zinnia elegans. Bright coral pink |
238 Integral endurance
231 Ananda of endurance
To know how to bear and endure undoubtedly
creates a strong and lasting joy.
Zinnia elegans. Cream with red
232 Supramentalised endurance
The attitude is such that difficulties lose
their power to harrass.
Zinnia elegans. Golden yellow
233 Psychic endurance
It will smile at life whatever its difficulties
may be.
Zinnia elegans. Pink
234 Mental endurance
The difficulty of the problems to be solved will never discourage it.
Zinnia elegans. Yellow |
235 Endurance of the higher vital
Whatever the circumstances, it never fails.
Zinnia elegans. Pinkish mauve
236 Vital endurance
Whatever the obstacles, we shall always
go forward!
Zinnia elegans. Violet red
237 Physical endurance
Knows neither fatigue nor exhaustion.
Zinnia elegans. Dark red
238 Integral endurance
It will go on unfailingly till the end of its task.
Zinnia elegans. White
239 Manifold endurance
Whatever the endurance needed, it is always there to do its duty.
Zinnia elegans. Multicoloured
240 Detailed endurance
Nothing is too small to be neglected; all circum-
stances are met with the same care.
Zinnia angustifolia. Several colours
240 Detailed endurance
|
Page-95
|
241 Power of perfect endurance
241 Power of perfect endurance
Manifests rarely, but is very precious.
Strobilanthes kunthianus. Bluish violet
|
ENDURANCE
Let endurance be your watchword: teach the life-force in you — your
vital being - not to complain but to put up with all the conditions
necessary for great achievement. The body is a very enduring servant,
it bears the stress of circumstance tamely like a beast of burden. It is
the vital being that is always grumbling and uneasy. The very
essence of endurance is that the vital should learn to give up its
capricious likes and dislikes and preserve an equanimity in the midst
of the most trying conditions.
Nothing great is ever accomplished without endurance.
THE MOTHER
PERSEVERANCE
The most essential quality is perseverance, endurance, and a — how
to put it? — a kind of inner good mood that helps you not to get
discouraged, not to become sad, and to face all difficulties with a
smile. There is an English word which expresses this very well -
cheerfulness. If you can keep this within you, you resist much better,
you fight much better, in the Light, these bad influences which try to
prevent you from progressing.
THE MOTHER
It is by persevering that one conquers difficulties, not by running away
from them. One who perseveres is sure to triumph. Victory goes to
the most enduring.
THE MOTHER
Perseverance is patience in action.
THE MOTHER
PATIENCE
Patience is the capacity to wait steadily for the realisation to come.
THE MOTHER
To know how to wait is to put Time on your side.
THE MOTHER
By having patience under all kinds of pressure you lay the founda-
tions of peace.
SRI AUROBINDO
|
Page-96
|
242 Perseverance
242 Perseverance
The decision to go to the very end.
Calendula officinalis. Yellow or orange
243 Detailed perseverance
One continues the work begun for as
long as necessary.
Wedelia. Bright yellow
244 Patience
Indispensable for all realisation.
Mimusops elengi. Cream white
245 Accomplishment
Accomplishment is undoubtedly the fruit of patience.
Mimusops elengi. Yellow orange
|
243 Detailed perseverance
244 Patience
|
Page-97
|
246 Service |
SERVICE
You have to regard yourself as a soul and body
created for [the Divine Mother's] service, one
who does all for her sake. Even if the idea of the
separate worker is strong in you and you feel that
it is you who do the act, yet it must be done for
her. . . . There must be no demand for fruit and
no seeking for reward; the only fruit for you is the
pleasure of the Divine Mother and the fulfillment other work, your only reward a
constant progression in divine consciousness and calm and
strength and bliss. The joy of service and the joy
of inner growth through works is the sufficient
recompense of the selfless worker,
SRI AUROBINDO
There is no greater joy than to serve the Divine.
THE MOTHER
246 Service
To be at the service of the Divine is the surest
way to attain realisation.
Peltophorum pterocarpum. Yellow |
Page-98
|
WORK
To do the work that one does in all sincerity, as
perfectly as one can, is certainly one of the best
ways to serve the Divine.
THE MOTHER
Work is part of the Yoga and it gives the best
opportunity for calling down the Presence,
the Light and the Power into the vital and. its
activities; it increases also the field and the
opportunity of surrender.
SRI AUROBINDO
WORKS OF LOVE
The one true reward of the works of love is to
grow ever in capacity and delight of love up to
the ecstasy of the spirit's all-seizing embrace and
universal passion. ... SRI AUROBINDO
247 Work
Let us offer our work to the Divine - this is the sure way to progress.
Acacia auriculiformis. Deep yellow
248 Works of love
The best condition for work.
Impatiens wallerana. Many colours
|
247 Work
|
248 Works of love
|
Page-99
|
249
Cheerfulness in work for the divine
249
Cheerfulness in work for the divine
Work for the
Devine and You will feel an ineffable joy filling your being.
Coreopsis
tinctoria. Several colours
250
Disinterested work done for the Divine
The surest
way to progress.
Crinum,
White
251
Disinterested work done for the Divine in the vital
Calm and
powerful, it reaches its goal.
Crinum,
White with reddish purple |
CHEERFULNESS IN WORK FOR THE DIVINE
Try in
enjoy everything you do. When you are interested in what you do, you
enjoy doing it. To be interested in what you do you must try to do
it better and better In progress lies treat joy.
THE MOTHER
251
Disinterested work done for the Divine |
Page-100
|
DISINTERESTED WORK
All action must be in [the integral Yoga] part of the God-life,
our acts of knowledge, our acts of power and production and
creation, our acts of joy and beauty and the soul's pleasure,
our acts of will and endeavour and strength and not our acts
only of love and beneficent service. Its way to do these things
will be not outward and mental, but inward and spiritual, and
to that end it will bring into all activities, whatever they are,
the spirit of divine love, the spirit of adoration and worship,
the spirit of happiness in the Divine and in the beauty of the
Divine so as to make all life a sacrifice of the works of the
soul's love to the Divine, its cult of the Master of its existence.
SRI AUROBINDO
Disinterested work is work done with no other motive than
that of doing as well as possible the Divine's work.
THE MOTHER
252 Power aspiring to become an instrument
for the divine work
Power, opening to a higher consciousness, awakens to
the need of being at the service of the Divine.
Passiflora vitifolia. Bright red
|
252
Power aspiring to become an instrument for the
divine work |
Page-101
|
253 Mahasaraswati's perfection in work
253 Mahasaraswati's perfection in work
Is not satisfied with makeshift.
Rondeletia odorata. Bright orange or deep pink
|
MAHASARASWATI
Mahasaraswati is the [supreme] Mother's Power of Work
and her spirit of perfection and order. . . . Of all the
Mother's powers she is the most long-suffering with men
and his thousand imperfections. Kind, smiling, close and
helpful, not easily turned away or discouraged, insistent even
after repeated failure, her hand sustains our every step on
condition that we are single in our will and straightforward
and sincere; for a double mind she will not tolerate and her
revealing irony is merciless to drama and histrionics and self-
deceit and pretense. A mother to our wants, a friend in our
difficulties, a persistent and tranquil counsellor and mentor,
chasing away with her radiant smile the clouds of gloom and
fretfulness and depression, reminding always of the ever-
present help, pointing to the eternal sunshine, she is firm,
quiet and persevering in the deep and continuous urge that
drives us towards the integrality of the higher nature.
SRI AUROBINDO
For [Mahasaraswati] everything must be done down to the
last detail, and done in an absolutely perfect way. And she
wants, she insists that it should be done physically, totally,
materially, that it should not remain in the air, you see, like
a mental or vital action, but that it should be a physical
realisation in all its details, and all the details should be
perfect, that nothing should be neglected.
THE MOTHER
Mahasaraswati [is] the goddess of divine skill and of the
works of the Spirit, and hers is the Yoga that is skill in •
works, yogah karmasu kaushalam, and the utilities of divine
knowledge and the self-application of the spirit to life and
the happiness of its harmonies.
SRI AUROBINDO |
Page-102
|
254 Skill in work
SKILL IN WORK
Yoga, says the Gita, is skill in works, and by
this phrase the ancient Scripture meant that the
transformation of mind and being to which it
gave the name of Yoga brought with it a perfect
inner state and faculty out of which the right
principle of action and the right spiritual and
divine result of works emerged naturally like a
tree out of its seed.
SRI AUROBINDO
254 Skill in work
Must be used consciously.
Phlox drummondii. Many colours
255 Skill in psychic work
Listen silently to the command that comes
from the Supreme Lord and you will have the
capacity to carry it out.
Phlox drummondii. Pink with white
|
255 Skill in psychic work
256 Skill in mental work
To know how to observe in silence is the
source of skilfulness.
Phlox drummondii. Yellow
257 Emotional skill in work
When work becomes attractive and is done
with joy, how much better it is done.
Phlox drummondii. White and mauve
258 Skill in vital work
The seat of all capacities and all skills, which have
only to be disciplined in order to be realised.
Phlox drummondii. Purple
259 Physical skill in work
Skilful hands, a clear vision, concentrated
attention, tireless patience, and what one does
is done well.
Phlox drummondii. Carmine red
|
263 Radiating skill in work
260 Skill in material work
Skilful hands, precise care, sustained attention,
and one compels Matter to obey the Spirit.
Phlox drummondii. Bright red
261 Skill in integral work
All that is done is done well, whatever the work
undertaken.
Phlox drummondii. White
262 Artistic work
All work at the service of beauty.
Phlox drummondii. Very light pink
263 Radiating skill in work
When the instruments of work (hands, eyes etc.)
become conscious and the attention is controlled,
the capacity for work seems to be limitless.
Phlox drummondii. Many colours
|
Page-102
|
264 Order
|
ORDER
There must be order and harmony in work. Even
what is apparently the most insignificant thing
must be done with perfect perfection, with a
sense of cleanliness, beauty, harmony and order.
THE MOTHER
ORGANISATION
A clear and precise vision of what is to be done
and a steady, calm sindfirm will to have it done
are the essential conditions for an organisation
to be run properly.
THE MOTHER
It is necessary to organise one's own affairs. . . .
And those who can do this are usually people
who can put their ideas in order and can also
organise their character and finally can control
their movements. . . . If one can take life in this
way, it becomes truly interesting. If one lives in
confusion, in disorder, in an inner and outer
chaos in which everything is mixed up and one
is conscious of nothing and still less in command
of things, that is not living.
THE MOTHER
|
Page-104
|
264 Order
To put each thing in its place gives it its true value.
Randia speciosa. Cream white
265 Organisation
Indispensable for all good work.
Pseuderanthemum. Several colours
266 Aspiration for organisation
Neat and methodical, order at the expense of
multiplicity.
Pseuderanthemum. White and reddish purple
267 Organisation in the vital
Indispensable for all realisation.
Pseuderanthemum. White and pink
268 Material organisation
Manifold and well-arranged in order to face difficulties.
Pseuderanthemum. White and purplish red
269 Integral organisation
Preliminary necessity for transformation.
Pseuderanthemum. White
270 Organisation of details
Indispensable for all lasting accomplishment.
Pseuderanthemum. White and reddish purple
271 Result of harmonious organisation
More effective than showy. An effective simplicity.
Pseuderanthemum. White and maroon
|
266 Aspiration for organisation
270 Organisation in
details
|
268 Material organisation
271 Result of harmonious organisation
|
Page-105
|
273
Grouping
273
Grouping
Indispensable for collective action.
Clerodendrum Paniculatum. Reddish orange |
272
Organised team-work
272
Organised team-work
Each one in his place and
all together.
Averrhoa
carambola. Rose purple |
Page-106
HELP
|
274
Perfect
Planning of work
One cannot help others to overcome their sorrows
and sufferings unless one has overcome all this in
oneself and is master of one's feelings and reactions.
THE MOTHER
The best way of helping others is to transform
oneself. Be perfect and you will be in a position to
bring perfection to the world.
THE MOTHER
The best way to help the world is to transform
own self by an integral and intensive yoga.
THE MOTHER
274 Perfect Planning of work
Can only be
obtained with the consciousness of the Devine.
Clerodendrum
inerm. White
|
275 Help
275 Help
You bring help to him who knows how to use you.
Cymbopogon citratus. Greenish purple |
Page-107
COLLABORATION
|
276 Collaboration
276 Collaboration
Always ready to help and knows how to do it.
Dianthus caryophyllus. Many colours
277 Obedience
To learn to obey is good; to obey only the Divine is better.
Dianthus chinensis. Several colours
278 Detailed obedience
The obedience to the Divine Will ought to be total.
Dianthus barbatus. Several colours
279 Perfect obedience
Without agitation or reserve, in every domain, joyous obedience
to the divine command.
Dianthus chinensis. Several colours, double |
Collaboration and reciprocal goodwill are indispensable for good
work.
THE MOTHER
It is only in harmonious collaboration that effective work can be
done. The important thing is to find the point on which you can
all agree — and after this is firmly established, each one must be
ready to yield his personal will in order to keep intact this point of
harmony.
THE MOTHER
OBEDIENCE
Obedience is necessary so as to get away from one's own mind and
vita and learn to follow the Truth.
SRI AUROBINDO
In yoga obedience to the Guru or to the Divine and the law of the
Truth as declared by the Guru is the foundation of discipline.
SRI AUROBINDO
277 Obedience
|
Page-108
|
280 Cheerful endeavour
282 Thirst to understand
|
280 Cheerful endeavour
The joy that one finds in the effort towards
the Divine.
Arctotis venusta. White
281 Thirst to understand
Very useful for transformation.
Crossostephium artemisioides. Yellow
282 Thirst to learn
One of the qualities that facilitate integral
progress.
Ipomoea lobata. Bright red
283 Progress
This is why we are on earth.
Catharanthus roseus. Several colours
284 Uninterrupted but spasmodic progress
Now here, now there, apparently very
impulsive.
Catharanthus roseus. Rose violet with
white
285 Vital progress
Organisation around the Divine Will and progressive
surrender to that Will.
Catharanthus roseus. Light rose violet
286 Integral progress in the vital
The vital consents to be purified.
Catharanthus roseus. White with violet
287 Constant progress in Matter
The result of an ardent aspiration.
Catharanthus roseus. Light pink with red
|
PROGRESS
283 Progress
287 Constant progress in Matter
288 Integral progress in Matter
Matter awakens to consciousness.
Catharanthus roseus. White with red
289 Integral progress
Can only be satisfied by integrality.
The best way to go fast.
Catharanthus roseus 'Albus'. White
|
Page-109
PROGRESS
|
Give up ail personal seeking for comfort,
satisfaction, enjoyment or happiness. Be only a burning fire for progress, take
whatever comes to you as an aid to your progress and immediately make whatever
progress is required.
THE MOTHER
It is especially the will for progress and
self-purification that lights the fire. The will for progress. When those who
have a strong will turn it towards spiritual progress and purification, they
automatically light the fire within themselves.
THE MOTHER
The thirst for progress, the thirst to know, the
thirst to transform yourself, and above all the thirst for Love and Truth - if
you keep that, you go faster. Truly a thirst, a need, you know, a need. All the
rest has no importance, what you need is that.
No more bonds - free, free, free, free! Always
ready to change every- thing, except one thing: to aspire. That thirst.
The "Something" we need, the Perfection we need, the Light we need, the Love we
need, the Truth we need, the supreme Perfection we need - and that's all. The
formulas - the fewer the formulas, the better. A need, a need, a need . . .
which only the Thing can satisfy, nothing else, no half measure. Only
That. And then, move on, move on! Your path will be your path, it doesn't
matter; any path, any path whatever.
THE MOTHER |
Page-110 |
