Chapter 25Replies to Prayers of the Physical Education

Replies to Prayers of the Physical Education Groups

GROUP A Sweet Mother, for us Thou hast kept the path free from all dangers and difficulties, the path that surely leads to the goal; and when the final victory will be won, it will reach out to infinity.

Mother, keep us always green, so that we may advance without stop on the road Thou hast with such labour prepared for us.

My little ones, you are the hope, you are the future. Keep always this youth which is the faculty to progress; for you the phrase “it is impossible” will have no meaning.

22 April 1949

*

GROUP B Sweet Mother, we want to be Thy faithful soldiers to fight for Thy final victory.

Victory to Sweet Mother.

Call to Victory I salute you, my brave little soldiers, I give you my call to the rendezvous with Victory.

3 April 1949

* 1 The groups are listed here as they were originally formed; since then, they have been reorganised.

GROUP C Lord, free from all ignorance Thy supreme workers and guide their standard of purity by the shortest way towards the Realisation.

May Thy will be done and not ours.

The Lord will name “supreme” only those of his workers who will have wholly surmounted and overpassed in them all animality. Let us be at the outset his faithful and sincere workers and when this more modest programme is accomplished we shall prepare ourselves for greater realisations.

23 April 1949

*

GROUP D Sweet Mother, we want to be Thy valiant warriors, we will follow Thee to the final Victory.

With a single sincere heart we all will for Victory, but it is by stages that it can be achieved. A scrupulous discipline is the first step. Let your new uniform be the symbol of its fulfilment.

17 April 1949

*

GROUP DG Sweet Mother, we are Thy little children aspiring for Thy all-powerful Light. And Thou, Sweet Mother, hast given us the assurance of the final Victory; it is Thy will that we should be Thy faithful, sincere, brave and disciplined soldiers.

Sweet Mother, here is our pledge. We are determined to be so, and above all, to place ourselves, without reserve, in Thy hands. Give us the power to do it.

I accept your pledge and you can rely upon my help to realise it. Age exists only for those who choose to become old. Forward, ever forward, without fear and without hesitation.

22 April 1949

*

GROUP DK Mother Divine, here is our prayer:

Grant that we may always be Thy obedient and sincere soldiers, may Thy force enable us to fight the hostile powers and win Thy victory.

Victory to the Mother!

Be always faithful and persevering and you will have your share of the realisation.

22 April 1949

*

GROUP E We want to be what Thou wantest us to be.

I have full trust in your goodwill. Trust in my help.

*

CAPTAINS’ GROUP All you Captains of Physical Education:

You can and must be the ´elite. I was thinking that, in the Ashram, there should be a nucleus around which all will be or-ganised. The Captains of Physical Education can be the nucleus of Physical Education. They need not be many in number, but a good selection, first class people, true candidates for supermanhood, ready to give themselves entirely, unreservedly to the big divine work. This is what is expected from you. This must be your programme.

March 1961

* Sweet Mother,

We aspire to work all together towards the goal that Thou hast proposed to us.

Grant us the rectitude, the courage, the perseverance and the goodwill necessary to accomplish this sublime task.

Kindle in us the flame which will burn out all resistance and make us fit to be Thy faithful servants.

My children, We are united towards the same goal and for the same accomplishment — for a work unique and new, that the divine Grace has given us to accomplish. I hope that more and more you will understand the exceptional importance of this work and that you will sense in yourselves the sublime joy that the accomplishment will give you. The divine force is with you — feel its presence more and more and be careful never to betray it. Feel, wish, act, that you may be new beings for the realisa-tion of a new world and for this my blessings shall always be with you.

24 April 1961 Messages for Competitions

ATHLETICS COMPETITION 1959 Behind the appearances that the physical eyes can see, there is a reality much more concrete and lasting. It is in this reality that I am with you today and will be during all the athletic season. The force, the power, the light and the consciousness will be in your midst constantly to give to each one, according to his receptivity, the success in his endeavour and the progress which is the crowning result of all sincere effort.

19 July 1959

*

GYMNASTICS COMPETITION 1959 What I told you at the opening of the athletics stands good for the Gymnastic Competition; I will be with you all through, helping you in your effort and enjoying your performances. With my blessings.

16 October 1959

*

ATHLETICS COMPETITION 1960 In joy and confidence, let all do their best, with my force, my help and my blessings.

21 August 1960

*

ATHLETICS COMPETITION 1962 Replace the ambition to be first by the will to do the best possible. Replace the desire for success by the yearning for progress.

Replace the eagerness for fame by the aspiration for perfection. Physical Education is meant to bring into the body, consciousness and control, discipline and mastery, all things necessary for a higher and better life. Keep all that in mind, practise sincerely and you will become a good athlete; this is the first step on the way to be a true man. Blessings.

15 July 1962

*

ATHLETICS COMPETITION 1963 To all those who want to make their body fit for a Divine Life, I say, do not miss this excellent opportunity of the athletic competition and never forget that whatever we do we must aspire for perfection. For it is this yearning for perfection which will, in spite of all difficulties, lead us to our Goal. Blessings.

21 August 1963

*

ATHLETICS COMPETITION 1964 We are here to lay the foundations of a new world. All the virtues and skills required to succeed in athletics are exactly those the physical man must have to be fit for receiving and manifesting the new force. I expect that with this knowledge and in this spirit you will enter this athletic competition and go through it successfully. My blessings are with you.

24 August 1964

*

facsimile

*

GYMNASTICS COMPETITION 1964 The 18th October is a good day. Gymnastics is a good art. And you will be good gymnasts. Blessings.

18 October 1964

*

COMPETITIONS 1966 It might be better to remind you that we are here for a special work, a work which is done nowhere else. We want to come in contact with the supreme consciousness, the universal consciousness, we want to bring it down in ourselves and to manifest it. But for that we must have a very solid base; our base is our physical being, our body. Therefore we have to build up a body solid, healthy, enduring, skilful, agile and strong, ready for everything. There is no better way to prepare the body than physical exercise: sports, athletics, gymnastics, and all games are the best means to develop and strengthen the body. Therefore I call you to go through the competitions beginning today, full-heartedly with all your energy and all your will.

1 April 1966

*

COMPETITIONS 1967 On this occasion of our physical education and sportive activi-ties: I must tell you once more that for us spiritual life does not mean contempt for Matter but its divinisation. We do not want to reject the body but to transform it. For this physical education is one of the means most directly effective. So I invite you to participate in the programme beginning today with enthusiasm and discipline — discipline, because it is the indispensable condition of order; enthusiasm, because it is the essential condition of success. Blessings.

1 April 1967

*

facsimile on whole page

COMPETITIONS 1968 The first condition for acquiring power is to be obedient. The body must learn to obey before it can manifest power; and physical education is the most thorough discipline for the body. So be eager and sincere in your efforts for physical education and you will acquire a powerful body. My blessings are with you.

1 April 1968

*

COMPETITIONS 1969 Since the beginning of this year a new consciousness is at work upon earth to prepare the men for a new creation, the superman. For this creation to be possible the substance that constitutes man’s body must undergo a big change, it must become more receptive to the consciousness and more plastic under its working. These are just the qualities that one can acquire through physical education. So, if we follow this discipline with such a result in view, we are sure to obtain the most interesting result. My blessings to all, for progress and achievement.

1 April 1969

*

COMPETITIONS 1970 What better offering can we make to the Divine, than to offer the skill of our growing bodies? Let us offer our efforts towards perfection, and physical education will take for us a new meaning and a greater value. The world is preparing for a new creation, let us help through physical education, by making our bodies stronger, more receptive and more plastic, on the way to physical transformation.

1 April 1970

*

COMPETITIONS 1971 We are at one of these “Hours of God”, when the old bases get shaken, and there is a great confusion; but it is a wonderful opportunity for those who want to leap forward, the possibility of progress is exceptional. Will you not be of those who take advantage of it? Let your body be prepared through physical education for this great change! My blessings to all.

1 April 1971

*

COMPETITIONS 1972 This year, let us offer all the activities of our body in consecration to Sri Aurobindo.

1 April 1972