Nirodbaran

Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo

Second Series

1. Spirituality

Problems of Harmonisation

One good news: I find now three mules – mules, mind you, not horses – are trying to draw me on. (1) Meditation, (2) silence (not of mind but of the buccal cavity), (3) poetry.

Well, mules are very useful animals. When Badoglio's motor lorries broke down, he bought  20,000 mules (I won't swear to the exact number) and they did the trick. You have only three mules and not 20,000 – but perhaps 3 will serve.

The buccal silence I can keep off from clashing with the other two. But the collision between meditation and poetry is inevitable unless I favour one of them.

There are three ways of meeting that situation. (1) Say “Yes, yes” to both partners, but that may create trouble afterwards, (2) be cryptic cystic in your answers, so that neither will be sure what you mean, (3) silence with an occasional profound “... Ah, hum. Yes, eh!” “Ah hum” always sounds unfathomable depths – and if “Yes” is too positive “eh” tones it down and corrects it. You have not enough worldly wisdom.

No need to harmonise by any set arrangement – only keep up the concentration. One hour of packed concentration or even a few minutes can do as much as three hours less packed. Do you say yours is not packed? Well, striped, streaked, spotted, dotted or whatever it may be.

04.06.1936