Chapter 8The Mother

Part Two

[facsimile]

Since the beginning of the earth, wherever and whenever there was the possibility of manifesting a ray of the Consciousness, I was there.

* That which is speaking to you now, is a faithful servant of the Divine. From all time, since the beginning of the earth, as a faithful servant of the Divine, it has spoken in the name of its Master. And as long as earth and men exist, it will be there in a body to preach the divine word.

So, wherever I am asked to speak, I do my best, as a servant of the Divine.

But to speak in the name of a particular doctrine or of a man, however great he may be, that I cannot do!

The Eternal Transcendent forbids me.

*

Myself and My Creed I belong to no nation, no civilisation, no society, no race, but to the Divine.

I obey no master, no ruler, no law, no social convention, but the Divine.

To Him I have surrendered all, will, life, self; for Him I am ready to give all my blood, drop by drop, if such is His Will, with complete joy; and nothing in His service can be sacrifice, for all is perfect delight.

Japan, February 1920

[facsimile]

*

How I Became Conscious of My Mission When and how did I become conscious of a mission which I was to fulfil on earth? And when and how I met Sri Aurobindo?

These two questions you have asked me and I promised a short reply.

For the knowledge of the mission, it is difficult to say when it came to me. It is as though I were born with it, and following the growth of the mind and brain, the precision and completeness of this consciousness grew also.

Between 11 and 13 a series of psychic and spiritual expe-riences revealed to me not only the existence of God but man’s possibility of uniting with Him, of realising Him integrally in consciousness and action, of manifesting Him upon earth in a life divine. This, along with a practical discipline for its fulfilment, was given to me during my body’s sleep by several teachers, some of whom I met afterwards on the physical plane.

Later on, as the interior and exterior development pro-ceeded, the spiritual and psychic relation with one of these beings became more and more clear and frequent; and although I knew little of the Indian philosophies and religions at that time I was led to call him Krishna, and henceforth I was aware that it was with him (whom I knew I should meet on earth one day) that the divine work was to be done.

In the year 1910 my husband came alone to Pondicherry where, under very interesting and peculiar circumstances, he made the acquaintance of Sri Aurobindo. Since then we both strongly wished to return to India — the country which I had always cherished as my true mother-country. And in 1914 this joy was granted to us.

As soon as I saw Sri Aurobindo I recognised in him the well-known being whom I used to call Krishna.... And this is enough to explain why I am fully convinced that my place and my work are near him, in India.

Pondicherry, 1920

O, my Lord, my Lord! What you want of me, let me be. What you want me to do, let me do.

20 June 1931

* My Lord, I will not try to escape from the work Thou hast given me. Wherever Thou placest my consciousness, it will remain without any attempt to rise to the blissful heights. Even if Thou willest it to be in the mud of the most material nature, it will stay there peaceful and at rest. But wherever it is, it cannot but be without aspiring towards Thee, opening to Thy influence and calling Thee down into itself as the sole reality of its existence.

7 March 1932

* With what ardour the consciousness aspires to escape from the prison of material vibrations and soar towards Thee, Lord, in the immaculate heights!

But flight is impossible... it is against Thy Will. The consciousness must remain caught in the mud of this obscure and ignorant nature. That is all right; the joy of being and doing what Thou wantest surpasses all other joys, even the most sublime.

But the consciousness cries: “I want Thee, I want Thee; without Thee I am nothing, I do not even exist!” And the vibration of the call is so strong that even this heavy Matter is shaken by it. “I want Thee, I want Thee! Since Thou dost not permit me to spring towards Thee, leaving all behind to be with Thee, I shall call Thee from here; and I shall beseech Thee so very much that Thou wilt come down to infuse Thyself into a world that has finally awakened to the absolute need of Thy Presence.” And the vibration of this invocation was so intense that through the dark and amorphous mass passed the first quiver announcing the approach of the Beloved.

8 March 1932

* O my God, Thou hast told me: “Plunge into Matter and identify thyself with it: it is there that I would manifest.”

And Thy will has been done — but Matter has ignored the gift and persists in wanting to seek in obscure and false activities and relations a satisfaction which it cannot find there.

And yet Thou hast promised me the Victory...

* O Lord, awaken my entire being that it may be for Thee the needed instrument, the perfect servant.

27 March 1936

* What I want to bring about in the material world, upon the earth.

1. Perfect Consciousness. 2. Integral Knowledge, omniscience. 3. Power invincible, irresistible, ineluctable; omnipotence. 4. Health, perfect, constant, unshakable; perpetually renewed

energy.

5. Eternal youth, constant growth, uninterrupted progress. 6. Perfect beauty, complex and total harmony. 7. Inexhaustible unparalleled riches, control over all the wealth

of this world.

8. The gift of healing and giving happiness. 9. Immunity from all accidents, invulnerability against all ad-

verse attacks. 10. Perfect power of expression in all fields and all activities. 11. The gift of tongues, the power of making oneself understood

perfectly by all. 12. And all else necessary for the accomplishment of Thy work.

23 October 1937

* I wish

1. personally to be eternally the perfect expression of the

Supreme Divine.

2. that the supramental victory, manifestation and transforma-

tion should take place at once.

3. that all suffering should disappear for ever from the worlds

present and future.

Outer Life

A DECLARATION I want to mark this day by the expression of a long cherished wish; that of becoming an Indian citizen. From the first time I came to India — in 1914 — I felt that India is my true country, the country of my soul and spirit. I had decided to realise this wish as soon as India would be free. But I had to wait still longer because of my heavy responsibilities for the Ashram here in Pondicherry. Now the time has come when I can declare myself.

But, in accordance with Sri Aurobindo’s ideal, my purpose is to show that truth lies in union rather than in division. To reject one nationality in order to obtain another is not an ideal solution. So I hope I shall be allowed to adopt a double nationality, that is to say, to remain French while I become an Indian.

I am French by birth and early education, I am Indian by choice and predilection. In my consciousness there is no antagonism between the two, on the contrary, they combine very well and complete one another. I know also that I can be of service to both equally, for my only aim in life is to give a concrete form to Sri Aurobindo’s great teaching and in his teaching he reveals that all the nations are essentially one and meant to express the Divine Unity upon earth through an organised and harmonious diversity.

15 August 1954

*

Divine Mother,

The officer who is preparing the electoral rolls wants

the name of the Mother included in the lists. If the Mother permits, I shall give the name.

Yes.

If they ask nationality, you put Indian.

12 April 1955

* Do not fill up the form for my book or books — I do not claim any rights of authorship — and I refuse to answer the question they ask.

It is true that this body was born in Paris and that its soul has declared that it is Indian, but I belong to no nation in particular. And as administrations cannot understand that, I refuse to deal with them.

14 February 1968

*

[facsimile]

The reminiscences will be short.

I came to India to meet Sri Aurobindo. I remained in India to live with Sri Aurobindo. When he left his body, I continued to live here in order to do his work which is, by serving the Truth and enlightening mankind, to hasten the rule of the Divine’s Love upon earth.

21 February 1968

*

[facsimile]

Do not ask questions about the details of the material existence of this body; they are in themselves of no interest and must not attract attention.

Throughout all this life, knowingly or unknowingly, I have been what the Lord wanted me to be, I have done what the Lord wanted me to do. That alone matters.

* While looking at the Samadhi:

I do not want to be worshipped. I have come to work, not to be worshipped; let them worship Thee to their heart’s content and leave me, silent and hidden, to do my work undisturbed — and of all veils the body is the best.

* Let it be the last time something is publicly mentioned about my past life! — this body does not want to be spoken of — it wants to be quiet and, as far as possible, ignored.

Work and Teaching If it is the Will of the Supreme that those who depend on me should have no faith in me, I have nothing to say. I am responsible only for the absoluteness of my own sincerity.

14 December 1932

*

Is there no means of uniting my will with Yours? Perhaps You have no special will, for You want nothing.

I know perfectly well what I want or rather what the divine Will is, and it is that which will triumph in time.

11 May 1934

*

I hope and believe Your work does not depend upon human beings.

No, it does not depend at all upon human beings. What has to be done will be done despite all possible resistances.

* There is only one thing of which I am absolutely sure, and that is who I am. Sri Aurobindo also knew it and declared it. Even the doubts of the whole of humanity would change nothing to this fact.

But another fact is not so certain — it is the usefulness of my being here in a body, doing the work I am doing. It is not out of any personal urge that I am doing it. Sri Aurobindo told me to do it and that is why I do it as a sacred duty in obedience to the dictates of the Supreme.

Time will reveal how far earth has benefited through it.

24 May 1951

[facsimile]

*

An objective reply to a letter If the supreme consciousness is incarnated and manifests itself in this body, all the denials in the world cannot prevent it from being so.

And if it is not so, my physical existence can be interesting1 only to those who have faith and who, with the help of this faith, can, through me, enter into contact with the Supreme Consciousness.

1 A different draft has “useful”.

The question has importance only for those, and others have no need to be concerned about it. For such a faith, to be sincere and effective, cannot be the object of any propaganda, either for or against it. Its birth must be free and spontaneous. It cannot be obtained through coercion nor destroyed through denial.

He who feels the need to fight violently against conviction or faith, of whatever kind, proves by that very fact that some part of his being, however tiny, is touched by this conviction, while another part of himself, generally more important and external, completely refuses to accept a faith which seems to him the more dangerous because he is more sensitive to it, and his will to deny it forcefully comes from the necessity of convincing himself.

From the subjective point of view, I know what I am. But this knowledge that is lived finds its value only in my sincerity; and of this sincerity the Supreme alone can be the judge.

7 November 1951

* I know that I cannot do much — I cannot satisfy the human desire for wonders and miracles. There was a time when I could and did do it. But for that one must live in the vital consciousness and use vital forces, which is not very recommendable.

23 January 1952

* It will be said of me: “She was ambitious, she wanted to transform the world.” But the world does not want to be transformed except by a very long and slow process, so slow that the change cannot be perceptible from one generation to the other.

I find that Nature delays and wastes. But she finds that I am too much in a hurry and too troublesome and exacting.

Let me write down all I have to say; let me foretell all that will be done, and then, if no one finds that I am doing it properly, then I shall retire and leave the others to do it.

31 March 1953

* I do not deny that you have got a connection with something of Sri Aurobindo, the something that was interested in you and in what you are doing. This something might have remained with you to inspire and help you in your work in America and elsewhere. But it is only a part, a very, very small part of Sri Aurobindo whom I know and with whom I lived physically for thirty years, and who has not left me, not for a moment — for He is still with me, day and night, thinking through my brain, writing through my pen, speaking through my mouth and acting through my organising power.

5 May 1953

* To believe or not to believe in the possibility of avatarhood can make no difference to the bare fact. If God chooses to manifest in a human body I do not see how any human thought, approval or disapproval can affect in the least His decision; and if He takes birth in a body, the denial of men cannot prevent the fact from being a fact. So what is there to get excited about. It is only in perfect quietness and silence, free from all prejudices and preferences, that the consciousness can perceive the truth.

24 September 1953

* Concerning my avatarhood, in what way can the opinion of people have any importance?

If I am not [an avatar], the belief of thousands of devotees cannot make that I should be. On the other hand, if I am, the denial of the whole world cannot prevent me from being.

25 September 1953

* There is justice ineluctable.

There is here a Consciousness working. Each one when he goes against this divine Consciousness loses something of his consciousness every time he does so. He goes down each time he does something against it. Each one gains in his consciousness every time he acts according to this divine Consciousness.

The world goes on as it is. When there is nothing you or I can do to change it, we can only keep quiet, silent witness like Brahman. As in the world so here also. So many things go on: each one tries to prove his superiority; there is politics of all kinds, propaganda. I only witness like Brahman; I am neither for nor against, neither approve nor condemn.

26 April 1955

* For me everything in human life is mixed, nothing is completely good, nothing completely bad. I cannot give my entire and exclusive support to this idea or that idea, to one cause or another. The only important thing for me, in action, is Sri Aurobindo’s work, automatically my conscious support is with all that helps that work and in proportion to the help. And for the work to be carried on as it must be I need all collaborations and all helps, I cannot accept only this one or that one and reject the others. I cannot belong to this party or that party. I belong to the Divine alone and my action upon earth is and will always be for the triumph of the Divine, irrespective of all sects and parties.

*

29 February 1956

During the Common Meditation on Wednesday This evening the Divine Presence, concrete and material, was there present amongst you. I had a form of living gold, bigger than the universe, and I was facing a huge and massive golden door which separated the world from the Divine.

As I looked at the door, I knew and willed, in a single movement of consciousness, that “the time has come”, and lifting with both hands a mighty golden hammer I struck one blow, one single blow on the door and the door was shattered to pieces.

Then the supramental Light and Force and Consciousness rushed down upon earth in an uninterrupted flow.

*

When the Supreme Lord told you to make the world, how did you know what had to be done?

I had nothing to learn for that, because the Supreme Lord con-tains everything in Himself: the whole world, the knowledge of the world and the power to make it. When He decided that there should be a world, He first brought forth the knowledge of the world and the power to make it and that is me, and then He commanded me to make the world.

25 September 1957

*

Why did you come like us? Why did you not come as you truly are?

Because if I did not come like you, I could never be close to you and I would not be able to tell you: “Become what I am.”

27 September 1957

*

Mother, what is your answer to the question: “Are you God?”

This question can be asked of any human being. And the answer is: Yes, potentially.

And the task of each one is to make it a real fact.

August 1966

* I do not know if I am powerful or not (because it is not sure where is the I) but the Lord is all-powerful. Trust is beyond all doubts and the Lord is looking into the matter.

*

You put something in Your words which enables us to see the Truth that words cannot convey. What is it that accompanies Your words?

Consciousness.

27 December 1967

* When I speak, I live what I say and I communicate the experience together with the words — no machine can record that. That is why the text seems completely different when it is heard or read, the main thing has gone, for it is beyond all notation. Even when what I have written myself is printed in a book or an article, the intensity of the experience I had while writing it escapes, and the text seems flat, although the words are identical.

This is the real reason for the physical Presence, its incontestable importance.

* Do not take my words for a teaching. Always they are a force in action, uttered with a definite purpose, and they lose their true power when separated from that purpose.

Sadhana of the Body This body has neither the uncontested authority of a god nor the imperturbable calm of the sage. It is yet only an apprentice in supermanhood.

* O my sweet Lord, supreme Truth, I aspire that the food I take may infuse into all the cells of my body Thy all-knowledge, Thy all-power, Thy all-goodness.

21 September 1951

* Only when it is no longer necessary for men’s progress that my body should be like theirs will it be free to become supramen-talised.

2 August 1952

* It is a fact that the Godhead has always taken a physical body with the intention of transforming that body and making of it a fit instrument for His manifestation upon earth. But it is a fact also that, until now, He has failed to do so and for one reason or another He had always to leave that physical body with the work of transformation unfinished.

In order that the Divine may keep, till a total transformation takes place, the body through which He is manifesting upon earth, it is necessary that, for at least one individual if not more, fulfilling the required conditions of harmony, strength, sincerity, endurance, unselfishness and poise in the physical, this body in which the Divine incarnates should be not only the most important thing, but even the thing exclusively important, more important than the divine Work itself, or rather that this body should become the symbol and the concretisation of the divine Work upon earth.

3 October 1952

* It is never work that makes me tired; it is when I am compelled to work in an atmosphere of dissatisfaction, despondency, doubt, misunderstanding and bad will, then each step forward repre-sents an enormous effort and tells on the body more than ten years of normal work.

20 September 1953

* For the last few days when I wake up in the morning I have the strange sensation of entering a body that is not mine — my body is strong and healthy, full of energy and life, supple and harmonious and this one fulfills none of these qualities; the contact with it becomes painful; there is a great difficulty in adapting myself to it and it takes a long time before I can overcome this uneasiness.

14 January 1954

* This experience followed conclusively the one I had last night while seeing the film. I felt very strongly that my children were emancipated and that they no longer need my physical intervention to do their work well. It is enough that my presence among them is an inspiration and guide for them to keep a clear vision of the goal and not to go astray on the way. This leads quite naturally to a physical withdrawal into oneself so as to concentrate materially upon the work of transformation of the body. I can now leave them externally to do things according to their own ideas of execution, reducing my presence to a more or less invisible role of creative inspiration and consciousness.

10 May 1954

* The body repeats constantly and with a poignant sincerity: “What am I to demand anything whatsoever from anyone at all? Left to myself I am nothing, I know nothing, I can do nothing. Unless the truth penetrates into me and directs me, I am incapable of taking even the minutest decision and of knowing what is the best thing to do and to live even in the most insignificant circumstance. Shall I ever be1 capable of being transformed to the point of becoming What I ought to be and of manifesting What wants to manifest upon earth?” But why does this answer always come from the depths, from You, Lord, with an indisputable certitude: “If you cannot do it, no other body upon earth can do it.” There is but one conclusion: I shall persist in my effort, without giving in, I shall persist until death or until victory.

8 September 1954

* My Lord, what Thou hast wanted me to do I have done. The gates of the Supramental have been thrown open and the Supramental Consciousness, Light and Force are flooding the earth.

But as yet those who are around me are little aware of it — no radical change has taken place in their consciousness and it is only because they trust my word that they do not say that nothing has truly happened. In addition the exterior circumstances are still harder than they were and the difficulties seem to be cropping up more insurmountable than ever.

Now that the supramental is there — for of that I am absolutely certain even if I am the only one upon earth to be aware of it — is it that the mission of this form is ended and that another form is to take up the work in its place? I am putting the question to Thee and ask for an answer — a sign by which I shall know for certain that it is still my work and I must continue in spite of all the contradictions, of all the denials.

1 Alternative: Am I truly.

Whatever is the sign, I do not care but it must be obvious.

* I cannot yet say “myself”, because when I say “myself” people think of my body, and my body is not yet truly myself, it is not yet transformed, and that produces a confusion in their minds. Besides, I have always felt that this attitude of my body perceiving its own imperfection was indispensable in order to keep a living and constant humility in the physical consciousness.

When the transformation is total, then I shall be able to speak, not before.

21 October 1955

* O divine Light, supramental Reality:

With this food, penetrate the whole body, enter into every cell, establish Thyself in every atom; may everything become perfectly sincere and receptive, free from all that obstructs the manifestation, in short, open to Thee all the parts of my body that are not already Thyself.

16 January 1958

* And the body says to the Supreme Lord: “What You want me to be, I shall be, what You want me to know, I shall know, what You want me to do, I shall do.”

3 October 1958

* But this body needs exercise and going up and down the steps is a very good exercise indeed. Moreover it is accustomed to collaborate in my work and would be sorry if any change was made because of its difficulties.

So things will go on as usual and when it will be time for it to come out of difficulties, the difficulties will disappear.

17 February 1961

*

Will you please let me see you in your new body? It should be possible with your help, I think.

The help is always there but it will be intensified because you must be ready to wait for some pretty long time.

January 1963

*

I would very much like to see you in your new body. Till then grant that I may be able to receive and assimilate what you give me.

I suppose you mean my new appearance or my transformed body. Because for a new body, I do not know of anybody who could make a complete living body into which I could step without losing, at least partly, my present consciousness. This of course could be a relatively quicker process, but not quite fair for the cells of this body so full of enthusiasm, and lending themselves so willingly to the somewhat exacting process of transformation.

In any case, as I told you already, you must be prepared to wait a long time for it, and to see many birthdays pass on. Which, of course, is very good and of which I fully approve.

25 January 1963

*

To each and every one of my children

Whenever they think, speak or act under the impulse of falsehood, it acts on my body like a blow.

16 July 1972

* To say the truth, I can take anything without likes and dislikes, but as on the table there is an ample choice, I preferably take what the body accepts and digests with ease.

* There is no disease from which I have not suffered. I have taken all the diseases upon my body to see their course and to have their knowledge by experience in the physical, so that I may be able to work upon them. But as my physical has no fear and it responds to the higher pressure, it is easier for me to get rid of them.§ Blessings Every day, at each moment, my blessings are with you.

* My child,

My blessings are with you to widen and purify your consciousness so that peace may always be within you.

* Whether the words are written or not, I always send you my blessings.

23 April 1934

* My blessings are always there to awaken you, but you must want to make use of them.

21 October 1935

* Blessings are a manifestation of the divine grace, in favour of an individual or a collectivity.

22 October 1935

* My love and blessings are with you. Understand that blessings are for the best spiritual result, not necessarily according to human wishes.

* My blessings are very dangerous. They cannot be for this one or for that one or against this person or against that thing. It is for... or, well, I will put it in a mystic way:

It is for the Will of the Lord to be done, with full force and power. So it is not necessary that there should always be a success. There might be a failure also, if such is the Will of the Lord. And the Will is for the progress, I mean the inner progress. So whatever will happen will be for the best.

21 January 1960 General From many instances I have come to know that my face is like a mirror showing to each one the image of his own internal condition.

28 June 1931

* I feel inclined to reply:

I live so far from all these conventions that I had not even thought of that.

16 May 1932

*

(About 24 April 1920)

The anniversary of my return to Pondicherry, which was the tangible sign of the sure Victory over the adverse forces.

24 April 1937

* “Who are you?” asks the adverse force.

“I am the impartial and truthful mirror in which each one can find his true likeness.”

25 March 1952

* The Supermind had descended long ago — very long ago — into the mind and even into the vital: it was working in the physical also but indirectly through those intermediaries. The question was about the direct action of the Supermind in the physical. Sri Aurobindo said it could be possible only if the physical mind received the supramental light: the physical mind was the instrument for direct action upon the most material. This physical mind receiving the supramental light Sri Aurobindo called the Mind of Light.§

29 June 1953

* As soon as Sri Aurobindo withdrew from his body, what he has called the Mind of Light got realised in me.

*

MOTHER’S SYMBOL

[facsimile]

The central circle represents the Divine Consciousness.

The four petals represent the four powers of the Mother. The twelve petals represent the twelve powers of the Mother manifested for Her work.

* The central circle represents the Supreme Mother, the Ma-hashakti.

The four central petals are the four aspects of the Mother — and the twelve petals, Her twelve attributes.

* It is the symbolic design of the white Lotus of Supreme Consciousness, with the Mahashakti (the form of the Mother as universal creation) at the centre in her four aspects and twelve attributes.

*

Sri Aurobindo says, “The true basis of education is the study of the human mind, infant, adolescent and adult.” But how does one study? Where does one start? What are the steps in this study?

Do not ask me any questions about the mind; I am no longer interested in it. I am concentrated on union with the overmind.

9 December 1972

*

How to learn to receive a solution for problems?

I cannot give it mentally; it is to be received inwardly.

17 February 1973

* My help is always with you as active as ever; but I do no more answer mentally.

5 March 1973

* Why do you want me to say something?

In silence is the greatest power.

MOTHER’S SIGNATURE

[facsimile on rest of this page]

Relations with Others

“I AM WITH YOU”

Mother gives always to each one the love he needs.

11 January 1933

* I am always seated in your heart, consciously living in you.

2 September 1935

* Open your heart and you will find me already there.

Don’t be restless, remain quietly concentrated in your heart and you will find me there.

1 October 1935

* Go deep inside the temple and you will find me there.

11 February 1938

* All souls who aspire are always under my direct care.

27 December 1957

* Mother is with all those who are sincere in their aspiration towards a divine life.

26 March 1971

*

Mother, I offer myself to You unceasingly. Here I am, Mother.

I hold you to my heart and keep you there.

Blessings.

5 June 1971

*

Mother, now and then I feel this new vibration coming down into me, bringing with it vigour, Force, joy, and I don’t know what — it is so beautiful. Here you are, my Mother.

I am always with you inwardly.

Blessings.

19 May 1971

* I am always present, near you, in you, and my blessings come with me.

* Be sure that I am always present among you to guide and help you in your work and your sadhana.

* For the moment the important thing is to cultivate this widening and deepening of the consciousness which enables you to feel my constant presence with you, to feel it in a real and concrete way which will bring you an immutable peace.

* Keep always this awareness of my constant loving presence and all will be all right.

* Have confidence, I am near you.

With all my tender love.

* Today at Pranam, for the first time I could enter X’s heart and an emanation of mine settled there.

14 June 1932

* I am happy with this awakening in your consciousness. You should allow it to develop more and more so that the light can penetrate everywhere, even into the darkest corners.

My help and protection are always with you.

17 June 1935

* My help is always with you to help you in your progress and your work.

The difficulties you cannot overcome today will be overcome tomorrow or later on.

* I always look upward. Beauty, Peace, Light are there, they are ready to come down. So, always aspire and look up, in order to manifest them upon this earth.

Do not look down at the ugly things of the world. Look always upward with me, whenever you feel sad.

* Be very quiet and you will feel my help.

* Child, you complain that you see me only as a friend... but what could be better than to have a friend who knows, who acts, who loves?

21 September 1945

* Surely, my child, I have no intention of leaving you and you need not worry; one thing you must know and never forget: all that is true and sincere will always be kept. Only what is false and insincere will disappear.

In the measure in which your need for me is sincere and genuine, it will be fulfilled.

5 October 1955

* My dear boy,

All this talk of leaving you is mere nonsense. What you are or are not I know better than you do; and I know the treasures that are hidden behind what you call your lower vital.

The only thing true you say is that love is unselfish and unconditioned. Such is the love of Sri Aurobindo and myself for you.

That is why we shall never listen to all your nonsense and will love you surely.

Come to me without fear. I will not scold and not look with “round eyes”.

* My very dear boy,

I knew something of this although you had not spoken, and the only thing I regretted is that you did not love and trust your Mummy enough to tell her frankly. How could you think that this could change my love for you?

Now nothing stands in the way between us, between X and his Mummy, and if my love for you could be greater, it would be so now that you have shown full confidence in me.

* Remember what Sri Aurobindo has written to you. When these moods come, why do you run away from Mother? Come to her, on the contrary, and she will cure you easily. This is the substance of what he has said.

* My dearest little child,

What a sad thing that my lovely is not well! I hope it is getting better now; but keep quiet and do not worry either about work or anything — you must not move until it is all gone.... If you feel quite well this afternoon, come and I will be very happy.

With all my love and affection I am near you holding you in my arms and praying that you will be quite all right very, very soon.

* My love remains with you with all its intensity. And in the intensity of this love, I have prayed and prayed to our Lord, asking Him to pour His Grace upon you and to make you conscious of the Divine Light and Soul in you, to give you the supreme realisation of His Presence.

* Let all the clouds disperse, all the attachments disappear, all the obstacles vanish, so that you can enjoy fully the peace and the joy of being here, so close to me, in the Divine’s abode.

* I am writing to tell you that surely you should be able to feel my presence every day. I am with you so concretely, I see you so clearly, we speak together, together we contemplate the harmony of a beautiful park; I explain to you and show you how to keep within oneself always this great peace which makes you live in eternity, beyond all human miseries, in the Presence (Truth) of the Lord.

* I received your letter. My deepest sympathy is with you.

We must pray for the day when the Light of the Truth will reappear in the consciousness. Meanwhile my love and blessings are always with you.

* My dear little child,

My love remains with you. I am constantly praying to our Lord that He should make you conscious of His Presence in you and thus one with me.

* Always with you in a growing light and peace.

Forward, always forward in love and joy and a peace rising ever higher.

* I remember and love all my children equally even if they never write to me — and all sincere prayers are always answered even if I do not write myself. So have no pain and be cheerful.

21 November 1962

*

I think that always, at every moment, someone or other is calling You and You answer. Doesn’t this disturb Your sleep or Your rest?

Day and night hundreds of calls are coming — but the consciousness is always alert and it answers.

One is limited by time and space only materially.

3 January 1968

* X is always present in our thoughts and living in our hearts.

For the thought the world is small, for the heart there is no distance.

* Days when it is cold and you would like to wrap Mother’s love around your shoulders.

*

Please think of me now and then.

That much only! Surely I do think of you more often!!

Love and blessings.

*

“I AM WITH YOU”

“I am with you.” What does it mean exactly?

When we pray or struggle with a problem within

ourselves, are we really heard, always, in spite of our clumsiness and imperfection, in spite even of our bad will and our error? And who hears? You who are with us?

And is it you in your supreme consciousness, an im-

personal divine force, the force of Yoga, or you, Mother in a body, with your physical consciousness? A personal presence that really knows each thought and each act and not some anonymous force? Can you tell us how, in what way you are present with us?

Sri Aurobindo and you, it is said, form one and the

same consciousness, but is there a personal presence of Sri Aurobindo and your personal presence, two things distinct, each playing its own particular role?

I am with you because I am you or you are me.

I am with you, that signifies a world of things, because I am with you on all levels, on all planes, from the supreme consciousness down to my most physical consciousness. Here, in Pondicherry, you cannot breathe without breathing my consciousness. It saturates the atmosphere almost materially, in the subtle physical, and extends to the Lake, ten kilometres from here. Farther, my consciousness can be felt in the material vital, then on the mental plane and the other higher planes, everywhere. When I came here for the first time, I felt the atmosphere of Sri Aurobindo, felt it materially at a distance of ten miles, ten nautical miles, not kilometres. It was very sudden, very concrete, an atmosphere pure, luminous, light, light that lifts you up.

It is now long since Sri Aurobindo has put up everywhere in the Ashram this reminder that you all know: “Always behave as if the Mother was looking at you, because she is, indeed, always present.”

This is not a mere phrase, not simply words, it is a fact. I am with you in a very concrete manner and they who have a subtle vision can see me.

In a general way my Force is there constantly at work, constantly shifting the psychological elements of your being to put them in new relations and defining to yourself the different facets of your nature so that you may see what should be changed, developed, rejected.

But that apart, there is a special personal tie between you and me, between all who have turned to the teaching of Sri Aurobindo and myself, — and, it is well understood, distance does not count here, you may be in France, you may be at the other end of the world or in Pondicherry, this tie is always true and living. And each time there comes a call, each time there is a need for me to know so that I may send out a force, an inspiration, a protection or any other thing, a sort of message comes to me all of a sudden and I do the needful. These communications reach me evidently at any moment, and you must have seen me more than once stop suddenly in the middle of a sentence or work; it is because something comes to me, a communication and I concentrate.

With those whom I have accepted as disciples, to whom I have said Yes, there is more than a tie, there is an emanation of me. This emanation warns me whenever it is necessary and tells me what is happening. Indeed I receive intimations constantly, but not all are recorded in my active memory, I would be flooded; the physical consciousness acts like a filter. Things are recorded on a subtle plane, they are there in a latent state, something like a piece of music that is recorded without being played, and when I need to know with my physical consciousness, I make contact with this subtle physical plane and the disc begins to turn. Then I see how things are, their development in time, the actual result.

And if for some reason you write to me asking for my help and I answer “I am with you”, it means that the communication with you becomes active, you come into my active consciousness for a time, for the time necessary.

And this tie between you and me is never cut. There are people who have long ago left the Ashram, in a state of revolt, and yet I keep myself informed of them, I attend to them. You are never abandoned.

In truth, I hold myself responsible for everyone, even for those whom I have met only for one second in my life.

Now remember one thing. Sri Aurobindo and myself are one and the same consciousness, one and the same person. Only, when this force or this presence, which is the same, passes through your individual consciousness, it puts on a form, an appearance which differs according to your temperament, your aspiration, your need, the particular turn of your being. Your individual consciousness is like a filter, a pointer, if I may say so; it makes a choice and fixes one possibility out of the infinity of divine possibilities. In reality, the Divine gives to each individual exactly what he expects of Him. If you believe that the Divine is far away and cruel, He will be far away and cruel, because it will be necessary for your ultimate good that you feel the wrath of God; He will be Kali for the worship-pers of Kali and Beatitude for the Bhakta. And He will be the All-knowledge of the seeker of Knowledge, the transcendent Impersonal of the illusionist; He will be atheist with the atheist and the love of the lover. He will be brotherly and close, a friend always faithful, always ready to succour, for those who feel Him as the inner guide of each movement, at every moment. And if you believe that He can wipe away everything, He will wipe away all your faults, all your errors, tirelessly, and at every moment you can feel His infinite Grace. The Divine is indeed what you expect of Him in your deepest aspiration.

And when you enter into this consciousness where you see all things in a single look, the infinite multitude of relations between the Divine and men, you see how wonderful all that is, in all details. You can look at the history of mankind and see how much the Divine has evolved according to what men have understood, desired, hoped, dreamed and how He was materialist with the materialist and how He grows every day and becomes nearer, more luminous according as human consciousness widens itself. Each one is free to choose. The perfection of this endless variety of relations of man with God throughout the history of the world is an ineffable marvel. And all that together is only one second of the total manifestation of the Divine.

The Divine is with you according to your aspiration. Naturally that does not mean that He bends to the caprices of your outer nature, — I speak here of the truth of your being. And yet, sometimes he does fashion himself according to your outer aspirations, and if, like the devotees, you live alternately in separation and union, ecstasy and despair, the Divine also will separate from you and unite with you, according as you believe. The attitude is thus very important, even the outer attitude. People do not know how important is faith, how faith is miracle, creator of miracles. If you expect at every moment to be lifted up and pulled towards the Divine, He will come to lift you and He will be there, quite close, closer, ever closer.

*

“TO BE NEAR ME”

In order to be always near me really and effectively you must become more and more sincere, open and frank towards me. Cast away all dissimulation and decide to do nothing that you could not tell me immediately.

* Do only what you could do before me without feeling embarrassed, say only what you could repeat to me without difficulty.

* Be very sincere and straightforward, harbour nothing within yourself which you cannot show me without fear, do nothing which you would be ashamed of before me.

* Try to be spontaneous and simple like a child in your relations with me — it will save you from many difficulties.

*

[facsimile]

Be simple, Be happy, Remain quiet, Do your work as well as you can, Keep yourself always open towards me — This is all that is asked from you.

*

PHYSICAL NEARNESS Whether I see you or not makes no difference to the help. It will always be there.

* You must remove two falsehoods from your mind.

1) What you get from me has nothing at all to do with what the others have or have not. My relation with you depends on you alone; I give you according to your true need and capacity.

Even here, already you were alone with me; if there were no others you would receive nothing more.

2) It is a great mistake to think that physical nearness is the one thing indispensable for the progress. It will do nothing for you if you do not establish the inner contact, for without that you could remain from morning to night with me and yet you will never truly meet me. It is only by the inner opening and contact that you can realise my presence.

*

importance for us. Is it going to widen the physical distance that was already existing between her and most Ashramites? And can the affairs of the Ashram be man-aged without her constant guidance? Do not the true interests of the sadhaks suffer during her retirement? Will she take the same usual care of us as she did before?

You ought not to forget that each one meets in life the exact expression of what he is himself. Grace and blessings are always with you. Not one day have I stopped taking the usual care of those who depend on my force.

22 May 1962

* Do the work — my inspiration and guidance will always be with you; and when it is necessary I shall see you physically. But I am working to lessen more and more this necessity. Because to 1 From 20 March 1962 Mother remained in her rooms upstairs in the Ashram, retiring from a daily routine in which everyone could see her regularly; thereafter she continued to meet persons, but by appointment.

be able to receive the inner guidance is indispensable for the perfection of the work.

21 December 1964

* Now that you are here, the only thing to do is to forget the past and to concentrate on your work here. It is true that for the moment I cannot see you regularly, but you must learn to get the inner contact (it is one of the chief reasons of my retirement) and then you will know that I am always with you to guide you and to help you and that you can have no better conditions than here to do properly your sadhana.

* It would be more correct to say that certain thoughts, certain feelings and certain actions take people away from me or create a separation between someone and me in spite of all physical proximity.

1 May 1968

*

We feel that we are separated from Your presence; but this separation is only an illusion, isn’t it, my Mother?

There is no real separation, but if the consciousness takes a wrong attitude, it puts itself into a state in which it has the sensation or the feeling of separation.

*

Is a physical contact with you indispensable ?

No, this physical contact is not indispensable. Certainly for those who have the true attitude, the physical contact helps the body to follow the movement of transformation, but the body is rarely in a state to profit by it. Generally on birthdays it is more receptive.

September 1971

* I am no more living an active life; if you are open, help is bound to come.

14 December 1972

*

ROLE AS GUIDE If you are quite sincere, you will agree with me that you are complaining of my being not too Divine but not Divine enough. For if in my physical body I had assumed, for instance, the appearance cherished by the ancient Indian tradition, how convenient it would be! Imagine, if having several heads and a great number of arms, possessing the power of ubiquity, when X comes to manicure my hands and so unceremoniously knocks at the door to inform me that she is there, (I cannot tell her not to knock because she is very busy) I could send her a pair of hands for her work and still be in my small room to answer to Y who is sitting with me there, how nice it would be!...

So, you see, I fear I have accepted to become too human, too much bound by the human laws of time and space, and thus not capable of doing half a dozen things at the same time!

12 January 1932

* Lord, I lament my limitations... but it is through them, by virtue of them, that men can approach Thee. Without them, Thou wouldst be as remote, as inaccessible to men as if Thou hadst not put on a body of flesh.

This is why each progress they make represents a true liberation for me, for each step they take towards Thee gives me the right to cast away one of these limitations and to manifest Thee more truly, more perfectly.

And yet these limitations could have been dispensed with. But then it would have been necessary to keep near us only those who have experienced the Divine, who have identified themselves with Thee, Lord, even if only once, either within themselves or in the universe. For this identification is the indispensable basis of our Yoga; it is its starting-point.

17 July 1932

* It is their own mental and vital formation of me that they love, not myself. More and more I am confronted with this fact. Each one has made his own image of me for himself in conformity with his needs and desires, and it is with this image that he is in relation, through that he receives the little amount of universal forces and the still smaller amount of supramental forces that manage to filter through all these formations. Unfortunately, they cling to my physical presence, otherwise I could withdraw into my inner solitude and do my work quietly and freely from there; but this physical presence is a symbol for them and that is why they cling to it, for in fact they have very little real contact with what my body truly is or with the tremendous accumulation of conscious energy that it represents.

And now, O Higher Force, that You are descending into me and penetrating more and more totally all the atoms of my body, the distance between myself and everything around me seems to be increasing more and more, and more and more I feel myself floating in an atmosphere of radiant consciousness that is totally beyond their understanding.

11 June 1954

* Since I love only You, O Lord, it is You alone whom I love in all and in each one; and by dint of loving You in them, I shall end up by making them a little conscious of You.

For them, the real thing is to know how to let themselves be loved without any preference and obstruction. But, not only do they not want to be loved except in their own way, they do not want even to open themselves to love unless it comes to them through the intermediary of their choice... and what could be done in a few hours, a few months or a few years takes centuries to be accomplished.

* After establishing a conscious contact with each person present, I merge with the Supreme Lord and then my body is nothing but a channel through which He pours out upon all His Light, His Consciousness and His Joy, to each one according to his capacity.

* I take the greatest care to open the door within all of you, so that if you have just a small movement of concentration within you, you do not have to wait for long periods in front of a closed door that will not move, to which you have no key and which you do not know how to open.

The door is open, only you must look in that direction. You must not turn your back on it.

* I am not eager to be the Guru of anyone. It is more spontaneously natural for me to feel the Mother of all and to carry them forward silently through the power of love.

19 September 1961

* I am not eager to be the Guru of anyone. It is more spontaneously natural for me to be the universal Mother and to act in silence through love.

But as you put the question, I shall answer. From the time you started using a mantra, I had put in it the power to make it effective. Now that you have stated what is the word of this mantra, I am confirming the power into it.

*

How do you conceive of my relation with you?

Are you not the son of the universal Mother?

25 July 1970

* Until now, my spontaneous attitude was that of the supreme Mother who carries the universe in her loving arms, and I was dealing with each one as with the child from whom she tolerates everything equally; and all that the people here were doing to please me I was taking as a token of their love and I was very grateful for it. Today I have learnt that many, if not most, are looking at me as their Guru and that they are eager to please me because to please the Guru is the best way to acquire merit on the path. And then I have understood that the duty of the Guru is to encourage from each one only that which can lead him quickly to the Lord and serve His Divine Purpose, — and I am very grateful for the lesson.

* Everyone has to follow his own path which, necessarily, is the best and the swiftest for reaching the goal.

As I happen to know the way, it is my duty to show it to them.

* When I say that I have initiated someone, I mean that I have revealed myself to this person, without words, and that he was capable of seeing, feeling and knowing What I am.

*

“DO AS YOU LIKE”

I want only what You think best.

When people suggest two alternative things and ask me which one to do, I answer “As you like” when neither is better than the other.

17 January 1933

* “If you want” obviously implies that there is a risk that the consequences of what you want to do may not be very good for your sadhana, but also that perhaps you are not ready to make the necessary progress which would enable you not to do what you wish to do.

29 March 1933

* It seems that you are far too complex and complicated to understand my straight direct simplicity. When I say, “this is the best” I mean that it is the best and consequently that it is the thing to be done. And what I call surrender is not to make a counter-proposal in answer to my arrangement but to accept it full-heartedly.

You ask for peace as if I was withdrawing it — but when I wrote to you with the best feelings of kindness, trust and consideration, “this is the best thing to do”, if you had answered at once “Yes, Mother, let it be done”, you would have certainly felt a greater peace in you and even a sweet joy.

26 July 1939

*

Your last letter, in reply to mine which explained what I thought of doing, runs: “Do as you like. But as you ask my opinion I must say that it is silly.” Is it silly because there is a feeling in me that cir-cumstances are compulsive? Another thing: why have you omitted those words which mean so much to me and which you have always ended with: “Love and blessings”?

My “it is silly” covered many sides of the question, including the most exterior one. What you suggest as the foolishness of believing that circumstances are compelling when they are not, is part of it.

It is purposely that I have omitted the words “love and blessings”, because I did not wish you to think that I am blessing your enterprise — I do not — just because I find it silly. So, do not be mistaken if I end by love and blessings. These words are for your soul of which you are not just now very conscious, and not for your exterior being.

18 June 1942

*

Why do I feel so much fear?