Nirodbaran

Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo

Second Series

1. Spirituality

Spiritual Experiences and Human Defects

The Mother said I was receptive. All I know was that I tried to be calm, forgetting by mind-effort that an outer world exists. That is receptivity?

Nonsense! It is only the proper condition for receptivity. Naturally it is the proper thing to do if you want to be receptive or become conscious of inner things. So long as the mind is jumping about or rushing out to outside things, it is not possible to be inward, collected, conscious within.

The Mother said my inner mind asked for vital stability and faith, which can be established by bringing the psychic to the front. Now, how to do that? It is a shame I ask you that elementary question after three and a half years' stay. I consulted your books and found that by self-offering, aspiration and silence it has to be done.

Yes, that is the proper way.

But aspiration for what?

Aspiration for the Divine or aspiration for faith and consciousness and the perfection of self-giving – aspiration for divine love, bhakti, anything that connects the soul with the Divine.

Does the psychic come to the front even though the vital is impure?

Well, it may, anything is possible; but if it does, it will certainly say, “Fie, fie, what! All this dirt in the temple, sweep me the temple clean.”

Z does not claim to know any sadhana but still to have an inner peace and joy. It must be true, for I find Z very happy and cheerful.

Well, yes, many people are like that. Calm or peace or happiness or cheerfulness, so long as there is no cause for disturbance, but immediately there is, then boil, seethe, simmer, growl, howl, yowl! The calm which causes of disturbance cannot disturb is the thing.

You say the working of the Force is not altogether in vain in spite of serious defects in people's nature. But surely they also must have satisfied some conditions?

Yes, of course. But it varies with different people. It may be faith, it may be earnestness and persistence. It may be love for the Divine. There are many other things, it may be like the Mohammedan with his tuft, you must give a handle somewhere for the Angel of the Lord to catch hold of you and lift you up.

19.11.1936