Questions and Answers 1956
Do you know what that means?—The aspiration must be formulated
during the time the star is visible; and that doesn’t last
long, does it? Well, if an aspiration can be formulated while the
star is visible, this means that it is all the time there, present, in
the forefront of the consciousness—this does not apply to ordinary
things, it has nothing to do with that, it concerns a spiritual
aspiration. But the point is that if you are able to articulate your
spiritual aspiration just at that moment, it means that it is right
in front of your consciousness, that it dominates your consciousness.
And, necessarily, what dominates your consciousness can
be realised very swiftly.
I had the opportunity to make this experiment. Exactly this.
The moment the star was passing, at that very moment there
sprang up from the consciousness: “To realise the divine union,
for my body.” That very moment.
And before the end of the year, it was done.
But it was not because of the star! It was because that dominated
my whole consciousness and I was thinking of nothing
but that, I wanted only that, thought only of that, acted only
for that. So, this thing which generally takes a whole lifetime—
it is said the minimum time is thirty-five years!—before twelve
months had passed, it was done.
But that was because I thought only of that.
And it was because I was thinking only of that, that just
when the star flashed by I could formulate it—not merely a
vague impression—formulate it in precise words like this: “To realise
union with the Divine”, the inner Divine, the thing we
speak of, the very thing we speak of.
Therefore, what is important is not the star but the aspiration.
The star is only like an outer demonstration, nothing else.
But it is not necessary to have a shooting star in order to realise
swiftly! What is necessary is that the whole will of the being
should be concentrated on one point.
(Silence)
(Mother shows a series of written questions.) What I have here
isn’t very interesting. There is one very practical question which
I have already explained to you several times, but perhaps it will
be good to explain it yet once again. It is this:
“When there is a clearly localised illness in the body,
what is the best way of opening the physical consciousness
to receive the healing Force?”
For this—as for everything else in this domain which may be
called the “outposts” of occultism or the threshold of occultism
—each one must find his own movement; for what is most
effective for each one is the method for which he has been more
or less prepared and which is most familiar to him. So it is very
difficult to make a general rule.
But there is a preparation which may be of a general kind.
That is, to accustom the body methodically to understand that
it is only the outer expression of a truer and deeper reality and
that it is this truer and deeper reality which governs its destiny
—though it is not usually aware of it.
One can prepare the body through a series of observations,
studies, understandings,1 by showing it examples, making it
understand things as one makes a child understand them, either
by observing its own movements—but generally, in this,
one is comparatively blind!—or by observing those of others.
And in a more general way, this preparation will be based on
recognised studies, on clear facts. Like this, for instance: that
a certain number of persons, placed in exactly similar circumstances,
experience, each one of them, very different effects. One
may go even further: in a given set of definite circumstances,
there is a certain number of particular, definite individuals, in
apparently quite identical conditions, and for some the effects
are catastrophic, while others escape without any harm.
During the war there was a very large number of such examples
for study. In epidemics it is the same thing; in cataclysms
of Nature, like tidal waves or earthquakes or cyclones, it is the
same thing.
The body understands these things if they are shown and
explained to it as one explains things to a child: “You see, there
was something else that acted there, not only the plain material
fact by itself.” And, unless some bad will is there, it understands.
This is a preparation.
Gradually, if you make use of this understanding, you must,
with a methodical work of infusing consciousness into the cells
of the body, infuse at the same time the truth of the divine
Presence. This work takes time, but, if done methodically and
constantly, it produces an effect.
So you have prepared the ground.
Suppose that as a result of some illness or other, there is some
sort of pain at a precise spot. At that moment all will depend, as
I said at the beginning, on the approach most familiar to you.
But we can give an example. You are in pain, in great pain; it is
hurting very much, you are suffering a lot.
First point: do not stress the pain by telling yourself, “Oh,
how painful! Oh, this pain is unbearable! Oh, it is becoming
worse and worse, I shall never be able to bear it”, etc., all this
sort of thing. The more you go on thinking like this and feeling like
this and the more your attention is concentrated on it, the
pain increases amazingly.
So, the first point: to control yourself sufficiently not to do
that.
Second point: as I said, it depends on your habits. If you
know how to concentrate, to be quiet, and if you can bring
into yourself a certain peace, of any kind—it may be a mental
peace, it may be a vital peace, it may be a psychic peace; they
have different values and qualities, this is an individual question
—you try to realise within yourself a state of peace or attempt to
enter into a conscious contact with a force of peace.... Suppose
you succeed more or less completely. Then, if you can draw the
peace into yourself and bring it down into the solar plexus—
for we are not talking of inner states but of your physical body
—and from there direct it very calmly, very slowly I might say,
but very persistently, towards the place where the pain is more
or less sharp, and fix it there, this is very good.
This is not always enough.
But if by widening this movement you can add a sort of
mental formation with a little life in it—not just cold, but with
a little life in it—that the only reality is the divine Reality, and
all the cells of this body are a more or less deformed expression
of this divine Reality—there is only one Reality, the Divine,
and our body is a more or less deformed expression of this sole
Reality—if by my aspiration, my concentration, I can bring into
the cells of the body the consciousness of this sole Reality, all
disorder must necessarily cease.
If you can add to that a movement of complete and trusting
surrender to the Grace, then I am sure that within five minutes
your suffering will disappear. If you know how to do it.
You may try and yet not succeed. But you must know how
to try again and again and again, until you do succeed. But if
you do those three things at the same time, well, there is no pain
which can resist.
That’s all, then.
(Silence)
Now, another question. It is about what I said last week in
connection with the psychic, which sees from its psychic domain,
which looks at the earth, seeking a place where it can
reincarnate in favourable conditions. Then I said that from the
psychic domain it looks at the earth to see a “corresponding
light” there.
Someone asks me what I mean by a “corresponding light”.
I simply mean a psychic light. For there are people who have
a more or less awakened psychic, and this psychic, more or less
awakened, is visible from the psychic domain to psychic beings.
So, when they see a light somewhere, they find it a favourable
place to manifest....
(It begins to rain.) Now, I think we are going to have a wet
meditation, my children!
(To a disciple) Take away this mike, these poor things don’t
like the rain.
(Meditation)
Open to Sri Aurobindo's consciousness and let it transform your life.
- The Mother (26 September 1971)
