Chapter 1August 2, 1969

I’ve received a line from P.L. He is arriving on the 8th. He just writes this: “The distress of these

last few weeks is slowly turning into strength and calm.... I confess that I suffered a good deal from my failure regarding the Vatican, but after what you conveyed to me from Mother, everything is growing clearer...” Yes, I had told him that it wasn’t at all a question of outer triumph or failure, that the simple fact of his PRESENCE there acted as a kind of “relay” enabling the Light to enter there – the very fact of his being there. That’s what I had told him.

As for me, I’ll add something. You understand, they made an attempt to unify all of Christendom, and the Pope went to Geneva to unite with the Protestants – which wouldn’t have been so good. That’s not the thing needed, because it would have strengthened Christianity – division takes away some of its power. It’s the unification of ALL religions that’s needed, not the unification of Christianity – they haven’t reached that point. So after looking a good deal, I saw it was, on the contrary, a divine grace that it didn’t work out.

If you have the opportunity, you can tell him that. I don’t know if he himself is still Christian....

All that gives strength to Christianity isn’t good. Christianity hoped to dominate the earth, and it’s this division that prevented its domination. In other words, I don’t think uniting with the Protestants would help the general work of unification. And for the time being, they can’t in the least conceive of anything else than putting all Christians together.

* * * Soon afterwards:

I am reading Savitri, the second Book, I think, the transformation of the King, his experience.138 I had read it very long ago, I didn’t remember at all, not at all; these days I have been reading it again... and it’s like a detailed description of the experience my body is now having! Ex-traor-di-nar-y. When I read it again, I was flabbergasted.

It’s absolutely as if my body were trying to copy that! And I didn’t remember at all, not in the least.... which would mean that Sri Aurobindo had SEEN the thing – did he see it, or did he experience it? I don’t know... And that’s what he regards as the supramentalization of the physical being. Do you

I’ll read it again.

* * *