Chapter 5December 17, 1969

(there’s no denying it, it’s interesting!), but it’s NOT THAT! It’s not that! All those possibilities must be exhausted for something in humanity to understand... that there’s nothing but this (Mother opens her hands in a gesture of surrender). There. And then, to let oneself be flattened until one disappears.

Ultimately, that’s the most difficult: to learn to disappear.

(silence)

Very well, mon petit (laughing), we’ll get there!

I’ve had a revelation.

Ah!

It was very interesting. That is, I was completely silent, and all of a sudden, it came, and as always it kept insisting until I noted it down.

It came in the wake of a question: “What is death?...” But then, the answer wasn’t at all on the ordinary plane, which means that the mind was perfectly silent.

It came like this, imperative (Mother laughs):

Death is the decentralization of the consciousness contained in the body’s cells.

With a whole world of perceptions at the same time (Mother makes a gesture around her), like a general terrestrial consciousness, with examples showing that it’s only when the consciousness contained in the cells is decentralized that one is dead. Otherwise, nothing, not even the heart stopping, can cause death.

Naturally, this decentralization stems from innumerable causes, but they are causes we might call psychological. And the cells contained in the body, or composing the body, are held in form by a centralization of the consciousness in them, and as long as that power of concentration is there, the body cannot die. It’s only when the power of concentration disappears that the cells scatter. And then one dies. Then the body dies.

The sequel was like this....

(Mother takes another note)

The very first step towards immortality is to replace the mechanical centralization by a willed centralization.

...which comes from the inner Presence, which means that through its will, the divine Presence concentrates the cells.

There.

In English, I put it like this:

Death is the consequence of the decentralisation of the Consciousness contained in the cells composing the body.

And then:

This centralisation produced by Nature is mechanical and it must be replaced by a willed centralisation.

* * * Then... (Mother takes other notes) I am continuing the answers to the Aphorisms, and yesterday... (those Aphorisms of Sri Aurobindo are extremely interesting, I had forgotten), yesterday T. asked me a question (because in those Aphorisms, Sri Aurobindo speaks of courage and love, meanness and selfishness, nobleness and generosity219 ), so she asked me, “Could you give me the definition of these words?” At first, I thought it wouldn’t come, but all of a sudden it came. So I noted it down, it’s interesting.

(Mother reads)

COURAGE is the total absence of fear in all its forms.

It shouldn’t be understood mentally, it should be understood like this (gesture above the head), because the words have a very vast meaning, as vast as possible, very universal.

LOVE is self-giving without asking for anything in exchange.

I repeat, it’s not at all on this plane (gesture below), because it was... the exact definition of divine Love as it acts.

Then the two dark things:

219230 – “Courage and love are the only indispensable virtues; even if all the others are eclipsed or fall asleep, these two will save the soul alive.” 231 – “Meanness and selfishness are the only sins that I find it difficult to pardon; yet they alone are almost universal. Therefore these also must not be hated in others, but in ourselves annihilated.” 232 – “Nobleness and