Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
Volume 1
I did not write to you because writing especially on these things, your poetry and your music, seemed to me superfluous 
– your success in these things has become a chose acquise [acquired thing]. I told Sahana because she asked the question and in doing so I indicated that the whole concert had been a success – and I praised the Radha song specially because it was the best, not only because of her singing but the song and music were so admirably beautiful – a compliment which was meant as well for you as for her. In fact the whole thing was very successful and admirably organised from beginning to end, each item a success in its place. So I don’t see why you should feel like that. Perhaps I should have written, but there is always at night the overwhelming press of work to be done and in the evening I was trying to finish the translation of your poem1 which I am trying to make as perfect as possible. Of course I would have written if I had thought you could have any doubts about our appreciation of your music. As for Harin, I don’t know whether his abstention was due at all to his not having been encouraged by the Mother to sing himself before a large audience, but he put it on the ground of sadhana and it was on the ground of sadhana that Mother said he need not come. To ask to be left out of the music2 is to ask for the music to be left out, for these things would be impossible without you,– you know very well that no one else would be able to do it rightly and that the development in this part of our life here rests on you and you alone.
For the rest, the difficulty of getting the perfect equanimity is a fact, but not for you alone – it has been so for all of us – it is too universal for you to make it a legitimate ground of discouragement. Nothing is more necessary, but nothing is more difficult. So there is no reason why you should discount my encouragement. My encouragement is given in spite of difficulties and not because I think there are none. Never mind these momentary mishaps – shake off the mood and once more en avant.