Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

5. On Three Works of the Mother

Fragment ID: 20216

The Mother, in her prayer of 4 August 1914, says: “Les hommes, poussés par le conflit des forces, accomplissent un sublime sacrifice” [p. 235]. Apparently she refers to the great war; but as a result of that war, has any “pure lumière” filled the hearts of men or the “Force Divine” spread on earth as she says later in the same prayer; has anything beneficial come out of that chaos? Since the nations are once more preparing for war and are in a state of constant conflict, there seems to be no indication of any change in the inner condition of men. People want war. Even people in a country like India seem to secretly wish for another great war. Hardly anyone seems to require Peace, Light or Love.

There has been a change for the worse – the descent of the vital world into the human. On the other hand except in the “possessed” nations there is a greater longing for peace and feeling that such things ought not to happen. India did not get any real touch of the war. However what the Mother was thinking of was an opening to the spiritual truth. That has at least tried to come. There is a widespread dissatisfaction with the old material civilisation, a seeking for some deeper light and truth – only unfortunately it is being taken advantage of by the old religions and only a very small minority is consciously searching for the new Light.

9 June 1936