Works of Sri Aurobindo

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-064_July 10_1971.htm

July 10, 1971

(Concerning a few words of Mother’s noted

 from memory by a disciple.)

"The harmonious moments in life are not a

 reward granted by the Divine. If life were normally

 what it should be, everything would always be

 harmonious…."

Yes, when it’s harmonious we think, “The Divine is happy with me”! That’s what people think, but it’s not true: it is the NORMAL state.

"… It is because of our imperfections that it’s

 not; when the imperfections disappear, the diffi

culties disappear at the same time."

* * *

A little later

The experience in the body is very interesting. All so-called moral, intellectual, psychological suffering, in other words, the suffering of the consciousness that is not purely material, seems childish to the body. Yesterday, it had … (what shall I say? I don’t know how to explain it). It doesn’t feel things in relation to itself, it feels things … (silence) IN others, but with a general consciousness, not a personal one; and it has such a horror of physical suffering, that is to say illnesses, accidents, that it wondered why, why the world exists like that. [[Let us point out that on this day Mother had an indirect contact (through the family) with a disciple stricken with cancer. ]] It then understood why some people don’t want to have a body anymore (that always seemed absurd before), it understood why. It was such an intense experience! It had an aspiration, something like a prayer, but it’s not a prayer: "May the world change! May the world change. It HAS to change — or else disappear." The idea of disappearing had not come before, it seemed … it used to think that the world was

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 moving towards a harmonious perfection; but, you see, it’s long — the length of time is terrible! There was an aspiration of incredible intensity for the transformation. Everything looks so dreadful because … because the transformation must, MUST take place. That anyone can be satisfied with a world like this is impossible — it’s impossible to a physical consciousness that is conscious of the Divine. It’s impossible, it absolutely has to change. And that was so vivid … I was gripped by it all night and all day, even while seeing people, with such an intensity: it must change, it must change….

The being, the inner consciousness can say and be conscious that that suffering is unreal, but the physical consciousness can’t — it can’t, it HAS to change. It’s not a matter of merging with a consciousness, leaving this physical consciousness to disappear: it has to change, it has to change…. I can’t put it into words, I can’t say it.

Yes, yes, I understand.

It is so very conscious that in all the worlds, even the vital world, everything depends on the attitude, and if you are in contact with the Divine, everything is fine, there’s no problem, but this (Mother touches her body), this physical suffering — cancer and all those things — it’s so concrete: It HAS to change, it has to change. It can’t be considered something one must “see in a different way.” It actually must change. You understand what I mean?

Yes, Mother.

In all the other domains, it depends on the attitude; here it doesn’t depend on the attitude — you may suffer more, suffer less, but…. The FACT has to change, you see. Because the world, the material world seen as it is, is a FRIGHTFUL thing.

You see, it is bearable due to the mental influence (vital and mental), but that influence is not enough, it has to be transformed.

Let me say it in a very down-to-earth way: for example, take a supramental being having the supramental consciousness, if his body gets cancer, it will remain cancer, you follow?… He may not feel anything, but only if he detaches himself from his body; whereas, for the transformation to be genuine, the body ALSO has to attain a harmony above — above all illnesses and accidents.

It is the only part. The other parts of the being can be transformed,

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can transform their consciousness while remaining what they are — but the physical body needs to change.

I don’t know whether it’s a passing experience or a final one — that I don’t know. We’ll see.

And yet with a supramental consciousness, it should be impos

sible to get cancer, for example.

Yes, but that means … it means the material substance is transformed.

No, I meant simply the consciousness: if someone has the

 supramental consciousness, that consciousness should be able

 to protect the body sufficiently, shouldn’t it?

I don’t know, that was the whole point.

That just seems impossible to me. I can’t imagine someone

 having the Truth-Consciousness and being afflicted with a

 Falsehood.

(silence)

If there is a falsehood in the body, it means there is falsehood

 in the consciousness.

(silence)

I can’t imagine your getting cancer, for instance! That doesn’t

 seem possible to me.

Well, precisely.

It seems impossible to me.

Before, it was like that; before, I thought it was impossible. But I am not so sure anymore.

I don’t know.

Except if it came to you as an experience to be gone through or

 as something to be conquered for the earth.

Yes, perhaps.

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But it could only be a transitory phenomenon for the work, it

 wouldn’t be something really striking your body. That doesn’t

 seem possible to me.

Yes, I too thought so…. It’s probably a necessary experience, a necessary phase.

You know, I always felt, always: if something isn’t right, it means that this something isn’t really turned to the Divine. And if everything is turned to the Divine, and obeys only the Divine, things will inevitably be harmonious. That was my conviction. But yesterday the experience came differently.

Probably it’s a necessary experience.

Yes, probably because your body is universal (at least terrestrial

 in any case), so it may come as a phenomenon for the work, for

 a moment — it can’t be a personal phenomenon of your body.

No, my body is less and less personal.

Yes, that just doesn’t seem possible to me, you know.

Probably a phase to be gone through.

Your body is equally in all sorts of people, so it can very wel

l be in the body of a person who has cancer….

(silence)

Yes, it’s probably to give it the required intensity of consecration.

(silence)

It was not afraid or anxious, or anything, it was…. It was like an experience (I don’t know how to put it), but it’s probably a question of words…. Along with the transformation, the impossibility of certain disorders should come automatically.

(Mother goes within for a long time)

We are just at the most difficult period.

Yes.

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Because it’s no longer this, and it’s not yet that.

And the body has strange experiences: for a few minutes all of a sudden, it feels that the solidity of matter is an illusion and that it may…. Here, I’ll give you a very practical example: something inside, an inflammation somewhere, for instance; well, as long as I am in the ordinary physical consciousness, it’s there, it’s concrete and it hurts, but there is a consciousness in which it no longer exists — physically. If you know (what shall I say?) … to put it simply: to approach the Divine in the right way, to enter into contact with the Divine in the right way, in the right manner — it starts up again afterwards as before.

(Mother turns around) Is he here?

Pranab is here.

Ah! Au revoir!…

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