On Thoughts And Aphorisms

 

1958-70

 

Contents

 

PRE CONTENT

 

Jnana (Knowledge)

(1958)

 

Aphorism 1

Aphorism 2

Aphorism 3

Aphorism 4

Aphorism 5

Aphorism 6

Aphorism 7

Aphorism 8

Aphorism 9

Aphorism 10

Aphorism 11

Aphorism 12

 

Jnana (Knowledge)

(1960-61)

Aphorism 13

Aphorism 14

Aphorism 15

Aphorism 16

Aphorism 17

Aphorism 18

Aphorism 19

Aphorism 20

Aphorism 21

Aphorism 22-23

Aphorism 24

Aphorism 25

Aphorism 26

Aphorism 27

Aphorism 28

Aphorism 29

Aphorism 30

Aphorism 31

Aphorism 32

Aphorism 33

Aphorism 34

Aphorism 35-36

Aphorism 37

Aphorism 38

Aphorism 39

Aphorism 40

Aphorism 41

Aphorism 42

Aphorism 43

Aphorism 44

Aphorism 45

Aphorism 46

Aphorism 47

Aphorism 48

Aphorism 49

Aphorism 50

Aphorism 51

Aphorism 52

Aphorism 53-54

Aphorism 55

Aphorism 56

Aphorism 57

Aphorism 58

Aphorism 59

Aphorism 60

Aphorism 61

Aphorism 62

Aphorism 63-65

Aphorism 66

Aphorism 67-68

 

Jnana (Knowledge)

(1960-61)

Aphorism 69

Aphorism 70

Aphorism 71

Aphorism 72

Aphorism 73

Aphorism 74-75

Aphorism 76

Aphorism 77-78

Aphorism 79-80

Aphorism 81-83

Aphorism 84-87

Aphorism 88-92

Aphorism 93

Aphorism 94

Aphorism 95

Aphorism 96

Aphorism 97

Aphorism 98

Aphorism 99-100

Aphorism 101-102

Aphorism 103-107

Aphorism 108

Aphorism 109

Aphorism 110

Aphorism 111-112

Aphorism 113-114

Aphorism 115-116

Aphorism 117-121

Aphorism 122-124

 

 

Jnana (Knowledge)

(1969-70)

Aphorism 125-126

Aphorism127

Aphorism 128-129

Aphorism 130

Aphorism 131-132

Aphorism 133

Aphorism 134-136

Aphorism 137

Aphorism 138

Aphorism 139

Aphorism 140

Aphorism 141

Aphorism 142

Aphorism 143-144

Aphorism 145

Aphorism 146-150

Aphorism 151

Aphorism 152-153

Aphorism 154-156

Aphorism 157-158

Aphorism 159

Aphorism 160-161

Aphorism 162

Aphorism 163-164

Aphorism 165

Aphorism 166

Aphorism 167

Aphorism 168-169

Aphorism 170-171

Aphorism 172

Aphorism 173-174

Aphorism 175

Aphorism 176-177

Aphorism 178

Aphorism 179

Aphorism 180

Aphorism 181-182

Aphorism 183-184

Aphorism 185-186

Aphorism 187-188

Aphorism 189-191

Aphorism 192

Aphorism 193-196

Aphorism 197-198

Aphorism 199-200

Aphorism 201-202

Aphorism 203-204

Aphorism  205

   

 

Karma (Works)

(1969-70)

Aphorism 206

Aphorism 207

 Aphorism 208-209

Aphorism 210-211

Aphorism 212

Aphorism 213

Aphorism 214-215

Aphorism 216

Aphorism 217

Aphorism 218-221

Aphorism 222-224

Aphorism 225-227

Aphorism 228-230

Aphorism 231-234

Aphorism 235-237

Aphorism 238-240

Aphorism 241-242

Aphorism 243-247

Aphorism 248-250

Aphorism 251

Aphorism 252-254

Aphorism 255-257

Aphorism 258-261

Aphorism 262-264

Aphorism 265-269

Aphorism 270-271

Aphorism 272-273

Aphorism 274-276

Aphorism 277-278

Aphorism 279

Aphorism 280-281

Aphorism 282

Aphorism 283-285

Aphorism 286-288

Aphorism 289-290

Aphorism 291-292

Aphorism 293-294

Aphorism 295-296

Aphorism 297-298

Aphorism 299-302

Aphorism 303-305

Aphorism 306

Aphorism 307

Aphorism 308-310

Aphorism 311-312

Aphorism 313-314

Aphorism 315-316

Aphorism 317-318

Aphorism 319

Aphorism 320-321

Aphorism 322-324

Aphorism 325-326

Aphorism 327-328

Aphorism 329-331

Aphorism 332-334

Aphorism 335-336

Aphorism 337-338

Aphorism 339

Aphorism 340

Aphorism 341-343

Aphorism 344-345

Aphorism 346-348

Aphorism 349-351

Aphorism 352-356

Aphorism 357

Aphorism 358-361

Aphorism 362

Aphorism 363-369

Aphorism 370-373

Aphorism 374-376

Aphorism 377-378

Aphorism 379-381

Aphorism 382

Aphorism 383-385

 

 

Disease and Medical Science

Aphorism 386-389

Aphorism 390-393

Aphorism 394-399

Aphorism 400-403

Aphorism 404-407

 

Bhakti (Devotion)

(1969-70)

Aphorism 408-412

Aphorism 413

Aphorism 414-420

Aphorism 421-424

Aphorism 425-427

Aphorism 428

Aphorism 429-430

Aphorism 431-434

Aphorism 435-438

Aphorism 439-444

Aphorism 445-449

Aphorism 450-455

Aphorism 456-461

Aphorism 462-463

Aphorism 464-465

Aphorism 466-468

Aphorism 469-471

Aphorism 472

Aphorism 473

Aphorism 474-475

Aphorism 476

Aphorism 477-479

Aphorism 480-481

Aphorism 482-483

Aphorism 484

Aphorism 485-489

Aphorism 490-492

Aphorism 493-494

Aphorism 495-496

Aphorism 497-499

Aphorism 500-503

Aphorism 504

Aphorism 505

Aphorism 506

Aphorism 507

Aphorism 508

Aphorism 509-512

Aphorism 513-514

Aphorism 515-516

Aphorism 517-518

Aphorism 519

Aphorism 520

Aphorism 521

Aphorism 522-523

Aphorism 524

Aphorism 525-526

Aphorism 527-528

Aphorism 529-530

Aphorism 531-533

Aphorism 534

Aphorism 535

Aphorism 536-537

Aphorism 538

Aphorism 539-540

Aphorism 541

289 – Mankind have wearied of strength and joy and called sorrow and weakness virtue, wearied of knowledge and called ignorance holiness, wearied of love and called heartlessness enlightenment and wisdom.

 

290 – There are many kinds of forbearance. I saw a coward hold out his cheek to the smiter; I saw a physical weakling struck by a strong and self-approving bully look quietly and intently at the aggressor; I saw God incarnate smile lovingly on those who stoned him. The first was ridiculous, the second terrible, the third divine and holy.

 

Sri Aurobindo tells us that to radiate love in all circumstances is a sign of the Divine who has equal love for the one who strikes him and the one who worships him – what a lesson for humanity !  

17 January 1970

 

291 – It is noble to pardon thine own injurers, but not so noble to pardon wrongs done to others. Nevertheless pardon these too, but when needful, calmly avenge.

 

292 – When Asiatics massacre, it is an atrocity; when Europeans, it is a military exigency. Appreciate the distinction and ponder over this world's virtues.

 

All this makes us feel very deeply the foolishness of human judgments based on self-interest and the reactions of the ego.

So long as men remain in their present state of ignorance, their judgments and opinions are worthless in the face of Truth and should be considered as such.

20 January 1970

 

293 – Watch the too indignantly righteous. Before long you will find them committing or condoning the very offence which they have so fiercely censured. 

Page - 298


294 – “There is very little real hypocrisy among men.” True, but there is a great deal of diplomacy and still more of self-deceit. The last is of three varieties, conscious, subconscious and half-conscious; but the third is the most dangerous.

 

It seems to me that conscious self-deceit is the worst, isn't it?

 

Conscious self-deceit is rare because it implies a great development of consciousness together with a perverted will to deceive, which leads to the most dangerous kind of falsehood; but it is perhaps also the easiest to cure, for the consciousness is already awakened and it only has to be made aware of its mistake and to take the decision to correct it in order to have the power to do so.

Others must first become conscious of what they are doing and this usually takes a long time.

21 January 1970

 

295 – Be not deceived by men's shows of virtue, neither disgusted by their open or secret vices. These things are the necessary shufflings in a long transition-period of humanity.

 

296 – Be not repelled by the world's crookednesses; the world is a wounded and venomous snake wriggling towards a destined off-sloughing and perfection. Wait, for it is a divine wager; and out of this baseness, God will emerge brilliant and triumphant.

 

Sri Aurobindo tells us that man is a transitional being and that from all the sufferings of the world will emerge a being of light capable of manifesting the Divine. 

Page - 299


Thus, all those who are not satisfied with the world as it is, know that their aspiration does not rise in vain and that the world is changing.

If consecration and effort are associated with the aspiration, things will move faster.

22 January 1970

 

297 – Why dost thou recoil from a mask? Behind its odious, grotesque or terrible seemings Krishna laughs at thy foolish anger, thy more foolish scorn or loathing and thy most foolish terror.

 

298 – When thou findest thyself scorning another, look then at thy own heart and laugh at thy folly.

 

Is it only our mental conception that sees grotesque and odious things, or are they really as we see them? And the same applies to beauty, doesn't it?

 

It is certain that in the present state of the physical world, appearances are still very deceptive; physical beauty is not always the sign of a beautiful soul, and an ugly or grotesque body may conceal a genius or a resplendent soul.

But for one who has more inner sensitivity, appearances are no longer deceptive and he can perceive the ugliness hidden beneath a pretty face and the beauty concealed beneath a mask of ugliness.

There are also cases, and these are becoming more and more numerous, where the appearance reveals the inner reality which then becomes discernible to all.

23 January 1970 

Page - 300


299 – Avoid vain disputing; but exchange views freely. If dispute thou must, learn from thy adversary; for even from a fool, if thou listen not with the ear and the reasoning mind but the soul's light, thou canst gather much wisdom.

 

300 – Turn all things to honey; this is the law of divine living.

 

301 – Private dispute should always be avoided; but shrink not from the public battle; yet even there appropriate¹ the strength of thy adversary.

 

302 – When thou hearest an opinion that displeases thee, study and find out the truth in it.

 

If you sincerely want to live according to the Truth, you must know that you can learn from everything and that you have the possibility of making progress at every moment. A great stupidity can often reveal a great light to you, if you know how to see it.  

24 January 1970 

 

303 – The mediaeval ascetics hated women and thought they were created by God for the temptation of monks. One may be allowed to think more nobly both of God and of woman.

 

304 – If a woman has tempted thee, is it her fault or thine? Be not a fool and a self-deceiver.

 

305 There are two ways of avoiding the snare of woman; one is to shun all women and the other to love all beings.

 

¹ Possible alternative reading: appreciate.

Page - 301


What should be the ideal of a modern woman in ordinary life?

 

In ordinary life, women can have all the ideas they like, it is not very important

From the spiritual point of view, men and women are equal in their capacity to realise the Divine. Each one must do so in his (or her) own way and according to his (or her) own possibilities.  

25 January 1970

 

306 – Asceticism is no doubt very healing, a cave very peaceful and the hill-tops wonderfully pleasant; nevertheless do thou act in the world as God intended thee.

 

Sri Aurobindo shows us that one can be an ascetic by preference and not out of abnegation; and so he makes us understand that to be a servant of the Lord and to act only according to His will is a far higher state than any personal choice, no matter how saintly it may seem.  

26 January 1970

 

307 – Three times God laughed at Shankara, first, when he returned to burn the corpse of his mother, again, when he commented on the Isha Upanishad and the third time when he stormed about India preaching inaction.

 

The Lord laughed when this man, who thought himself so wise, complied with conventions, wrote useless words and gave an example of overactivity in order to preach inaction.

27 January 1970

¹.Later, Mother added, “For women, in ordinary life, the ideal is good health and harmony.” 

Page - 302


308 – Men labour only after success and if they are fortunate enough to fail, it is because the wisdom and force of Nature overbear their intellectual cleverness. God alone knows when and how to blunder wisely and fail effectively.

 

309 – Distrust the man who has never failed and suffered; follow not his fortunes, fight not under his banner.

 

310 – There are two who are unfit for greatness and freedom, the man who has never been a slave to another and the nation that has never been under the yoke of foreigners.

 

Certain essential qualities can only develop through suffering and difficulties. Men run away from them in their ignorance, but the Supreme Lord imposes them on those He has chosen to represent Him on earth in order to hasten their development for he is the Supreme Wisdom.  

28 January 1970 

311 – Fix not the time and the way in which the ideal shall be fulfilled. Work and leave time and way to God all-knowing.

 

312 – Work as if the ideal had to be fulfilled swiftly and in thy lifetime; persevere as if thou knewest it not to be unless purchased by a thousand years yet of labour. That which thou darest not expect till the fifth 

Page - 303


millennium, may bloom out with tomorrow's dawning and that which thou hopest and lustest after now, may have been fixed for thee in thy hundredth advent.

 

This is exactly the attitude we should all have towards transformation: as much energy and ardour as if we were certain of achieving it in our present life, as much patience and endurance as if we needed centuries to realise it.

29 January 1970

 

313 – Each man of us has a million lives yet to fulfil upon earth. Why then this haste and clamour and impatience?

 

314 – Stride swiftly, for the goal is far; rest not unduly, for thy Master is waiting for thee at the end of thy journey.

 

Here again, as always, Sri Aurobindo sees every aspect of the question and while preaching calm and patience to the restless, he rouses and preaches energy to the indolent. In the union of opposites lies true wisdom and total effectiveness.

30 January 1970

 

315 – I am weary of the childish impatience which cries and blasphemes and denies the ideal because the Golden Mountains cannot be reached in our little day or in a few momentary centuries.

 

316 – Fix thy soul without desire upon the end and insist on it by the divine force within thee; then shall the end itself create its means, nay, it shall become its own means. For the end is Brahman and already accomplished;  

Page - 304


 see it always as Brahman, see it always in thy soul as already accomplished.

 

Certainly, we all carry in our souls the divine end of the eternal journey, and our personal incapacity is the only thing that prevents us from being immediately aware of it.

Total and unconditional surrender to the Supreme Lord (Brahman) is the sole and wonderful way to cure this incapacity.

1 February 1970

 

317 – Plan not with the intellect, but let thy divine sight arrange thy plans for thee. When a means comes to thee as the thing to be done, make that thy aim; as for the end, it is, in the world, accomplishing itself and, in thy soul, already accomplished.

 

318 – Men see events as unaccomplished, to be striven for and effected. This is false seeing; events are not effected, they develop. The event is Brahman, already accomplished from of old, it is now manifesting.

 

One could say it in this way: everything exists from all eternity, and we become conscious of it progressively in what we call the material world.

This way of seeing and speaking is a complete reversal of the ordinary human consciousness.

2 February 1970

 

319 – As the light of a star reaches the earth hundreds of years after the star has ceased to exist, so the event already accomplished in Brahman at the beginning manifests itself now in our material experience.  

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Yes, but the will of Brahman that we should take part in this event dates back to the same moment and their relation remains the same. So the only thing that matters is not to act on personal impulse, but on the order received from Brahman.  

4 February 1970

 

320 – Governments, societies, kings, police, judges, institutions, churches, laws, customs, armies are temporary necessities imposed on us for a few groups of centuries because God has concealed His face from us. When it appears to us again in its truth and beauty, then in that light they will vanish.

 

321 – The anarchic is the true divine state of man in the end as in the beginning; but in between it would lead us straight to the devil and his kingdom.

 

The Anarchic state is the self-government of each individual. And it will be the perfect government only when each one becomes conscious of the inner Divine and obeys Him and Him alone.

5 February 1970

 

322 – The communistic principle of society is intrinsically as superior to the individualistic as is brotherhood to jealousy and mutual slaughter; but all the practical schemes of Socialism invented in Europe are a yoke, a tyranny and a prison.

 

323 – If communism ever re-establishes itself successfully upon earth, it must be on a foundation of soul's brotherhood and the death of egoism. A forced association and a mechanical comradeship would end in a world-wide fiasco.  

Page - 306


324 – Vedanta realised is the only practicable basis for a communistic society. It is the kingdom of the saints dreamed of by Christianity, Islam and Puranic Hinduism.

 

As Sri Aurobindo tells us so well, individualism is a kind of self-justified jealousy, the reign of each one for himself.

But the only true remedy is the exclusive and universal reign of the Supreme Lord, present and conscious in all beings, with a transitional government by those who are truly conscious of Him and entirely surrendered to His will.

7 February 1970

 

325 – “Freedom, equality, brotherhood,” cried the French revolutionists, but in truth freedom only has been practised with a dose of equality; as for brotherhood, only a brotherhood of Cain was founded – and of Barabbas. Sometimes it calls itself a Trust or Combine and sometimes the Concert of Europe.

 

326 – “Since liberty has failed,” cries the advanced thought of Europe, “let us try liberty cum equality or, since the two are a little hard to pair, equality instead of liberty. For brotherhood, it is impossible; therefore we will replace it by industrial association.” But this time also, I think, God will not be deceived.

 

As yet liberty, equality, fraternity are only words loudly proclaimed but never yet put into practice, and they cannot be put into practice so long as men remain what they are, ruled by their ego and all its desires instead of being ruled only by the One Supreme and supremely Divine.  

8 February 1970 

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