The Mother

Agenda

Volume 12

October 27, 1971

What do you have to say?

There's a practical problem, Mother....

(Mother gives a transformation flower)

That's all.

But that's enough!... A practical problem concerning the statue of Sri Aurobindo in Calcutta. You know that the government of Bengal decided¹ to erect a statue of Sri Aurobindo in place of Lord Curzon's – the very man who had sought the division of Bengal, and Sri Aurobindo had tried to stop him. Sri Aurobindo would take the place of Lord Curzon, across from the “Victoria Memorial.” It's at the entrance to Calcutta. That's what they decided in principle. Then the government of Bengal was overturned and their decision wasn't put into legal terms, so now everything is pending. Now to restore the momentum, the people of “Pathmandir”²have to do something. But the people of Pathmandir have another idea. They purchased some time ago the house where Sri Aurobindo was born in Calcutta....

Ah!

And they propose, instead of putting the statue of Sri Aurobindo on a public street, to put it in the house where Sri Aurobindo was born.

But would it be in the open?

No, it will be in the house.

But no one will see it, then!

That's what I think too. But they say, their argument is: if we put it in the house, it will be protected – the crows will not make a mess on it, and the students won't decapitate it!

Are the students of Bengal against Sri Aurobindo?

No, no, Mother! But it so happens they decapitated the statue of Gandhi, for instance!

(With a smile) Ooh!

For Sri Aurobindo himself, it's better in the house – it's more in keeping with his temperament and character. For the people, it's better outside.

Yes, certainly. A statue is made to be in public, so the image is there for everyone to see.

Yes, but if they are likely to damage it or.... That should be absolutely avoided.... I don't know, they're mad there – they're mad everywhere. They're mad here too.

Here too, it came here, the same idea of killing, destroying.... It's everywhere. It's as if the whole vital world had descended on earth (gesture of a crushing mass).

I wouldn't want anything to happen to the statue.

Yes, Mother, but in my opinion, the statue loses its meaning if it isn't in public. If it's put in a house, it loses its meaning.

Obviously! Obviously.

What had a meaning is putting Sri Aurobindo across from the Victoria Memorial, in place of the Englishman who wanted to divide Bengal – that has a meaning.

Yes, obviously. But then the Indians would have to behave decently.

Anyway, the people of Pathmandir will do what you say.

(Mother remains concentrated)

The best thing is to have two statues: one in public and one in the house.

All right, Mother.

That would be the best.

I'll tell them.

And they don't have to be the same. One can be sitting and the other standing. The one in the street, standing; and the one in the house, sitting. That will be very nice. Because in the house there's no need to ask anyone's permission. I hope the one in the street is standing?

I believe you had chosen a photo of Sri Aurobindo in which he was looking toward the future. I think it's the photo by the Dutch painter.

Yes, that's it. I would like the one in the street to be standing.³ And then, in the house, sitting at a table.

At a table?

Or simply sitting.

That way, it's fine.

(silence)

If something happens to the statue in the street, well, it will be the sign that Bengal will go under. That's all. It will be too bad for them.

That's the point, I don't want his action to be dependent on that. So, if he is seated in the house, his action continues – even if they destroy his statue [in the street]....

But they won't touch it, Mother!

I don't think so.

He is too beautiful!

Oh, but people are going mad. I really don't know how long it will last, but there is a wind of madness everywhere. They talk only of killing. It's as if... (gesture showing the onrush of vital forces on earth), oh!... The world has become repugnant.

Division is very strong.

But an ABSOLUTE sincerity is required for those who want to work.

Yesterday I had some experiences that showed me how the usual habit of thinking that “things will somehow be taken care of” within, that they are “being taken care of,” is no longer sufficient. Now we need this (Mother lowers her fist forcefully into matter, like a blade of light): like this.

You mean Kali?

An ABSOLUTE is needed, you follow. You must accept nothing in yourself that says: it will come, it will come....

I had an experience.... That's all right, I was happy, I was very happy because that requires some integrality, you know – an absolute sincerity and integrality – otherwise.... But the experience itself was terrible.

(long silence)

Was it a personal physical experience?

(Mother nods her head yes
silence)

Outside there is a lot of trouble in town because of....

The university?⁴

Yes, a lot.

But it's not the students' doing.

It's the students.

Yes, but behind, there's something else, Mother.

Yes it's the Mission, of course.

Yes, exactly!

It's the Mission. And the French consul is with them.

Yes, of course!

Last evening there was a meeting of 2,000 people – with inflammatory speeches against the Ashram, against the university, and against the central government because the government is in favor of the university.

Humanity is really petty.

Oh, yes! It has descended very, very low.

Sri Aurobindo!... For them Sri Aurobindo is a “foreigner” (!) because he comes from Bengal – it's dismaying! He who did everything for this country. It's dismaying.... Really only the Divine can put up with that.

Yes.

Because humanly I would say: very well, let this humanity fall into the pit! Let it be crushed, what does it matter!

There would not remain too many living beings.

Yes, Mother, certainly.

(silence)

But one really doesn't see what miracle can change all that.

Oh, there WILL BE a miracle. But what, I don't know.

(silence)

Because this whole reaction, this whole movement (gesture at ground level) belongs to the lower mind and vital, and it's pretty low; but a Pressure from above would make a pulp of all that – how will it come about? I don't know.... But one can see – one sees clearly that external circumstances are being brought to the point where things will suddenly crack up. But how? I don't know.

(long silence)

Were you given the quotations from Sri Aurobindo?... They're interesting.

I haven't seen them yet.

Oh, you must see them, they're very interesting.

I have them here.

There are two long ones and four short ones. We'll put them in February and August next year.

(Satprem, leafing:) I've just chanced on this one!

“One must have faith in the Master of our life and works, even if for a long time He conceals Himself, and then in His own right time He will reveal His Presence.”

That's it! That's exactly it! Exactly. But the ones from “The Life Divine” are really interesting:

“The tree of the knowledge of good and evil with its sweet and bitter fruits is secretly rooted in the very nature of the Inconscience from which our being has emerged and on which it still stands as a nether soil and basis of our physical existence; it has grown visibly on the surface in the manifold branchings of the Ignorance which is still the main bulk and condition of our consciousness in its difficult evolution towards a supreme consciousness and an integral awareness. As long as there is this soil with the unfound roots in it and this nourishing air and climate of Ignorance, the tree will grow and flourish and put forth its dual blossoms and its fruit of mixed nature. It would follow that there can be no final solution until we have turned our inconscience into the greater consciousness, made the truth of self and spirit our life-basis and transformed our ignorance into a higher knowledge. All other expedients will only be makeshifts or blind issues; a complete and radical transformation of our nature is the only true solution.”

The Life Divine, XVIII.627

I would like to keep that one for February 21.

(silence)

I'm thinking of what he says there, those “unfound roots”.... What is that root, that unfound root?

Root of what?

The root that hasn't been found. The root of all the evil, the Ignorance, everything: “As long as there is this soil with the unfound roots in it and this nourishing air ...,” etc.

(after a silence)

What I found with yesterday's experience – what the experience demonstrated to me – is that the physical being, which thought it was exclusively turned to the Divine, is turned in a... (what shall I say?) an almost superficial way. That is to say, it is still capable of feeling certain occurrences as “catastrophic.” I was made to live all the possible things that could still happen to me, to the body, if things went wrong and precisely if men were driven by the adverse force. And I could see to what a degree (there were the most dreadful possibilities, you know), I saw to what a degree the body is not... (imperturbable, immobile gesture). For several hours it was truly, oh, completely upset, ill with the horror of those possibilities.⁵ And then it was able to offer all that to the Divine and say, really say consciously: “Your Will.”

But there was that kind of incapacity we have to know truly the Divine Will – especially concerning the future, tomorrow, what's going to happen right at this minute – it was dreadful. How we know nothing, how utterly ignorant we are!

Yes, that's something I feel very strongly too. I feel very strongly how much we don't know – we don't know!

It was yesterday afternoon between one and two o'clock, I think. But it was dreadful, you know, it was worse than hell – simply to see... just how little we know.

(silence)

And it was a very complete experience, because it wasn't the experience of a person but of all humanity: I saw absolutely concretely that all men who THOUGHT they knew they had Experience [of the Divine], well, it was... (wavering gesture, just above the head), it was halfway, so to say. Whenever we rise a little higher than the ordinary consciousness, we at once think we have touched the Divine.

And that experience yesterday did not culminate in any knowledge; it culminated in... (Mother opens her hands in a gesture of surrender).

So individual existence – what we call “existence” – seems such an abominable, such a horrible thing!... (Mother pants)

And at the same time, a very distinct perception that this is not ONE single existence in a material body: it's the personal, individual existence throughout all time that goes on like this (infinite gesture ahead). So the solution was (gesture of open hands): to give oneself without any ambition to know, to unite without having the illusion of feeling union. Like that. A total surrender.

You see, death is not a solution! NOT AT ALL. There is no solution except... except if... what? (Mother touches her body, indicating material transformation). Perhaps when we're ready – if we're ready.

It's... it was unbelievably horrible.

I came out of it. But I came out of it like this (gesture of open hands).

An effort – a little more sincere effort – and a little more sincere realization: what You want.

(Mother goes off into a smiling silence)

¹ By a resolution of 26 June 1971.

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² An Ashram center in Calcutta.

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³ The statue in bronze, done by the sculptor Hrishikesh Dasgupta, will be unveiled on 16 August 1975 by the vice-president of India, B.D. Jatti.

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⁴ A students' strike, public manifestations, parades (the government has had to close all the Pondicherry schools), protesting “Sri Aurobindo University,” which was to be inaugurated for the Centenary. There were even graffiti on the walls of the Ashram tennis ground: “Sri Aurobindo, the head of thieves and scoundrels.” It was in fact an expression of anger against the businessmen and shopkeepers of the Ashram. Instead of Sri Aurobindo's name (“the foreigner”), the students wanted the name of Gandhi, or a Tamil saint, or even the minister of the State of Madras (!).

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⁵ Mother's groans of pain could be heard downstairs, in the Ashram courtyard.

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