Introduction To Agenda

 March 3, 1986

I

Sri Aurobindo says man is conscious enough to give himself a direction -- a self direction -- so as to arrive at the next species. Evolution so far has been subconscious or unconscious. The arrival of man on the scene can give evolution the character of self conscious direction with the result of advancing the process by centuries or even millenniums.

In Her Agenda Mother explains that man can have control over his being, as an engineer has the mastery over the machine of his own design. SHE says the knowledge is there for one to acquire and the power over the process will come later. One acquires that power when his will learns not to be carried away by its mechanical movements and also learns to let the higher will act on it.

Creation of the world, life on earth takes place by the Supreme allowing itself to limit itself and evolve through forms. Form needs limitation even though limitation does not necessarily issue forms out of it. Limitation of Consciousness generates different behaviour in the consciousness so limited. Matter when limited begins to repeat itself endlessly, a capacity which it never had, when not limited. Mind when limited into confines develops faculties of thinking and understanding shedding its previous capacity of direct knowledge. As the evolution proceeds, mind begins to develop appropriate senses in the vital and sense organs in the physical to aid its new faculties of thinking and understanding. Vital, when limited, learns to act within the confines of limitation and tries to serve and subserve the causes of matter and mind. Slowly it comes under the suzerainty of mind losing its original freedom. Vital acts to energise the body letting itself in the process to be dampened by the heaviness of matter.

Before creation, the field is one of unlimited Consciousness of the Supreme, the Divine. After the advent of creation, there exists two parts, the one original limitless unevolving Truth-consciousness, the Supreme Divine and the limited, confined, evolving creation wherein a yet unrealised possibility of the Supreme Divine is tried out.

Now, our total concern is the field of creation and only that. This is a limited field, wherein behaviours generated by the limitation are created. The behaviours of the Supreme Consciousness of the limitless vast are all no more fully true within creation. The limitless energies of the Original are there in the full measure but do not have the same unlimited field for play. Hence they take on themselves behaviour permitted by the limitation. Limitation compels the unbounded energy REPEAT itself for want of wider scope. This capacity for repetition is the original characteristic of what we call the physical consciousness which is really matter, the very substance of the Consciousness.

Limitation not merely compels repetition but in the long run generates swift movement. The more and more limitation organises itself into a form the Consciousness solidifies into the primary substance, dense matter. With farther organisation of the form, the dense matter, compelled by the infinite energy evolves into less dense matter capable of swift movement, the vital. At first, the emerging vital is comparatively free, since the limitation governing matter has not fully extended itself to the vital. When the vital too comes under the limitation and furthers its own forms, its own movements are far quicker than the primary substance, the matter. Being less dense and confined into its own newly evolved form, this vital, when it moves into action, moves with great speed, a speed that does not permit comparison with the earlier substance, the matter. The characteristic typical of the vital is swift movement. With the external form getting more organised, this characteristic swift movement of the vital is confined to chosen directions, chosen by the necessities of the generation of external forms.

As the limitation of the primary matter generated the less dense vital, confinement of the vital and its primeval energies compel vital to evolve farther into a more rarefied field. Hence the mind comes into existence. Having lost the general movement of the Original Vast and confining itself to a limitation, creation demands form, substance, rarefication of the substance and direction for its movement. New planes of creation come into existence each with its own faculties, the physical with its repetition, the vital with its swift movement and the mental with its discernment for direction.

Each of the faculties further develops specialised talents, capacities and skills. Mind develops thinking, understanding and memory. Further they ripen into ideation and imagination. Vital develops its swift movement into enthusiasm, excitement, hurry, likes and dislikes. The physical stays with its primary trait of repetition extending it to the vital and mental and simultaneously receiving the faculties of the other planes into itself. The finished human being is one of three planes of physical, vital and mental each endowed with the traits of the other two in appropriate measure. Their formation follows the chronological order of their birth and later specialisation.

Our present interest is the further evolution from mind. Mother says the further evolution is possible only by the instrumentation of the involved psychic being coming forward. It is not any of the human faculties or endeavours that can accomplish the further evolution, but the Mother Force, the Shakti in the evolving consciousness. The role of the human effort is limited to initiate and complete the surrender of the individual free will.

When the full possibility of evolution in a plane has been exhausted, further existence in that plane helps free the involved soul from its involution so as to help it reach its origin. Repeated occurrences of this description help a plane raise its level to another plane, which means evolution. Such phenomena of evolution from matter to life and life to mind have taken place without a conscious participation of the evolving soul.

When evolution in the plane of mind is exhausted, souls that are riper or maturer than this plane have been freed to rejoin their origin. The soul that is so released is the immutable soul around which the embodiment has taken place. At a further stage, the involved soul that is the evolutionary deputy of the immutable soul, viz. the psychic gets released and begins to preside over the embodied being. As the psychic does not leave for Moksha, deserting the embodiment, it helps to hasten the evolution, rather turning the unconscious process of evolution into a conscious process which is Mother's evolution.

Sri Aurobindo and The Mother have given the world this yogic knowledge and offered the Sadhaks of this yoga the power that is required to effectuate this knowledge. Knowledge is of the Consciousness, its part of light. The force part of the Consciousness is will. By nature of original constitution, force is less open to the transformation than the knowledge. Knowledge and will are separate faculties in the human mental consciousness whereas they are fused in the Supramental Consciousness. Our present interest is in acquiring that knowledge and the power of the transformation too. We have summarised that knowledge above as THEY have described in their writings.

For the will to acquire the force of the higher consciousness, after the knowledge has been raised, the will should shed its present mental, physical movements it is accustomed to. All its energies in toto are required for this effort and constantly too, along with a willingness to shed them. Having shed the dead past, the will must acquire the strength to want what the Divine wants. This formidable aspiration will make the transformation possible, if the being has reached equality giving up its basic restlessness.

Peace, calm and silence help establish equality. A quiet will for them is an essential requisite. Constant calling of Mother into the depths of the being help establish all of these and help the transformation.

How does one who is powerfully attracted to the ideal, who has the call, who is willing for total commitment to this yoga begin? How does he proceed?

It is obvious that he is to begin from where he is, e.g. at the point of his present mental development. Before initiating himself into any process of yogic discipline, he must consolidate his commitment that he really feels at the deepest point of his being. That ensures the maximum possible result. Once there is the powerful attraction for the ideal, the call, the commitment to yoga is allowed to sink into his being, spread to all nooks and corners of the external being, later it extends itself to the inner being. Though this is a constant, continuous process, initially the mental acceptance and the submission of the will, will achieve a major portion of it, establishing calm, patience, silence and some equality. This is the foundation for the yoga. The active movements of the being should be first directed to a central light for its sanction. Creation of a central light, opening the being to the higher consciousness through the decision, directing the movements of the external being to the light for its sanction are the essential initial steps. The response of the being comes in the shape of being slowly but steadily turning itself to the Divine inner and outer. The response spreads horizontally covering the smaller acts of the being quickly but also slowly opens up a vertical dimension in the depth.

He who has achieved this much is on the track, is initiated into yoga. Though in principle he is committed to yoga, he will find himself FULLY expressing the habitual movements from each part of his being. To desist from this expression is mandatory and even the genuine sadhak who took to this yoga on being called to it, now, often finds himself helpless to shed these habitual movements because he finds himself unconscious when they rise to the surface.

When he reads an idea, he tries to understand it clearly and takes the usual joy in expressing it in lucid terms little knowing he has lapsed into an unconscious activity. We are not now talking of one who can still progress by learning new ideas but about a sadhak whose commitment to this yoga is genuine. To him understanding, thinking, explanation are a lapse. When he reads an idea, he should try to see the light behind the idea or at least the knowledge. Having seen it, if the impulse of expression comes he must deny himself that movement. That way knowledge leads to light and light opens up the higher light. Those familiar with the workings of the mind that is capable of understanding an idea will know the nature of effort called for. He should seriously endeavour and his effort will be rewarded with success. Also this effort will help him see the process of the mental faculties triggering the running thought and later the emotional attitudes initiating the current of habitual thought movements. Vital and physical sensations also do the same. To see them and to endeavour to deny those movements is an indispensable exercise. When a sadhak fully exhausts his energies in such an exercise, he is at his best. The Divine moves in to act when the sadhak exhausts himself. Though this yogic endeavour is on the surface, by its width and totality, the effort called for is great. When he succeeds in this his surface personality is touched by the higher consciousness. Also its penetration into the being begins. Generally the original commitment to yoga will be from a greater depth. The infusion of higher consciousness reaches wherever there is opening and at moments of exhaustive effort will reach the depths of original commitment.

The moment the descent of the higher consciousness reaches the greatest depth of the original opening, Grace moves in, as at that point the being exhausts itself in straining towards the Divine. Grace that moves in opens the whole being, in however small a measure, for however brief a period of time, to the full descent of the higher consciousness. One has a supramental vision for a split second.

Should this happen to one, but his external being is buried in tamas, he feels this descent as a certain heaviness. Depending upon in what vibration he is buried, he feels the descent variously as a great joy or a mental curiosity or even inner felicity. The vision is prevented by the external impurity.

Such a good beginning of yoga expresses itself in many ways. The mental type feels it as greater keenness of the intellect, the vital type as fuller effectivity in life, the physical type as greater health. Also the composition of the inner faculties of the being is better revealed to the sadhak so that he might gain greater control of his inner movements.

The firm commitment to yoga, the turning of the being to Mother, the exhaustion of the energies of the being in straining towards the goal, the fuller opening of the being to its very depths and the descent of the higher supramental force into it are new weapons in the hands of the sadhak for further spiritual conquests. Knowledge of the constitution of the parts of the being - given to us by Mother in the Agenda - helps us to make more detailed efforts in any direction we choose. Mother offers us all Her experiments in the body.

Mother says what SHE pours into a sadhak is the overflowing of Grace which brings about beneficial progress inwardly and outwardly but the effects will be for the moment only as the sadhak's inner preparedness alone has the capacity to make the effects permanent. To achieve lasting yogic results the sadhak should shed the present structure of character and acquire a new structure of consciousness. Reversal of any thought, any feeling or sensation brings in a huge descent of the higher energy. Reversal of character, reversal of personality create a better structure for greater receptivity and lasting results. Reversal of consciousness instantaneously initiates movements of evolution of consciousness.

The civilized man acquires control over his voluntary actions to become a better citizen, a loyal family member and a refined personality. A sadhak can acquire control and mastery over his involuntary actions, giving the descending Consciousness greater scope for transformation. A cultured man's mastery over his native impulses is inconceivable for an uncivilized man who is at their mercy. Similarly the yogi's mastery passes the comprehension of the civilized citizen. But both are different stages of the same process of self restraint.

For this yoga to be undertaken successfully, this should be the only aim to which all one's energies are directed. As the effort is to transcend the species, no partial effort can yield results. For one to see some flashing results, the same principle of fully living at a given moment is necessary for the experience to precipitate. When Mother speaks of the higher consciousness descending even for a moment, SHE only means that, at least for the moment, one has to exhaust his efforts. If the poise of the higher consciousness persists Mother says it is bliss, a bath of the Lord, a bath of lightning, a soft woolly feeling, a status incapable of being expressed in words. The first sign of return to the old consciousness is pain.

Remaining in the new consciousness is not only happiness but one is guided not by thought or experience but by direct knowledge, direct perception, direct sensation of the moment. Often, Mother says, it looks as if living by the side of danger safely and securely. It is an experience to be lived, not an explanation to be detailed. Mother says the new consciousness is Power that acts in its own speed not a mind that offers an explanation.

If you want to know how the physical mind functions on its own or the vital shoots out habitually or the matter repeats, it is necessary that we turn around, stop the present habitual movement, draw that movement back a little. That little will reveal its original composition and functioning. While writing a sentence we act on the unconscious skill perfected. Can we remove layer after layer of the writing skill and see how that skill was acquired and how it now exercises itself? It is to make the act of writing conscious from its present subconscious status. Can the awareness of the stages through which that skill is finally performed, be now recreated, and the repetitive capacity in the skill shed in favour of freshness during the writing? Removing the top dressing of thought, feeling and sensation from an act brings us face to face with the physical movement. An act, say wrapping a book, when penetrated reveals the thought that presides over it, -- brown paper must be used, paper must be cut in this fashion, -- feeling of the work, the nervous sensation of wrapping successively. Finally, we find the movement of wrapping repeating itself. Often when an act like wrapping is over, you can see the hand wanting to repeat the act. How do we fully transform an act? When a book is to be wrapped, the mind, in a flash, repeats several times what is to be done and how it is to be done, all according to the past experience. Can we stop expressing that experience? When we meet a Frenchman and he asks a question, the answer comes out of our mouth in English as we do not know French. We desist speaking to him in French and try to remember the few French words we know and see whether it could be of some service or resort to sign language. All the time the mind, may be the mouth too, will be uttering words in English, the known experience.

For one who is taking a serious yogic effort of calling Mother, turning to HER from his depths, an effort to suspend the known experience brings in the higher experience. If the mind ceases to repeat the known thoughts of wrapping, we see in its place a quiet knowledge of wrapping, a direct knowledge guiding the hands. It is a moment of higher consciousness acting directly, in a fuller fashion. Right knowledge of wrapping that we had not acquired till then occurs directly without external learning. Mind falls silent, and is full. If the feeling in the act is reversed too, the higher feeling descends making us have a feeling for the book and paper as we so far not had. As the reversal proceeds deeper, one finds the hand moving on its own like lightning and finishing the job of wrapping so nicely as he had never done. These are the expressions of the higher consciousness at different layers of our being as we open ourselves to it by reversing the habitual, dead movements. If the reversal goes deeper down through the consciousness, the bath of the Lord, Mother speaks occurs.

II

Coming to practical way of life in the daily mundane existence of sadhaks, devotees, etc. there are a great many varieties of human response to the Divine and various intensities in each type of response. One type that has always interested me was those who feel, "My attraction to Mother is real, sincere, genuine. SHE is part of my inner existence. I do want to do this yoga. But, I am an ordinary person made up of human parts. I am no Avatar who can reverse human nature. I find this yoga million miles away from me. Is there any method by which I can do my best and be satisfied in my devotion to Mother?"

Sadhaks are those whose commitment to the yoga is total. One who is in life, however pure-hearted he is, cannot rise to the intensity of discipline of a totally committed sadhak. As we confine ourselves to these sincere seekers who are unable to give a total response to Mother's yoga, we look for something less formidable than the highest discipline.

Such a thing is possible and can yield not the highest realisation but bring the devotee out of his frustration (that he is unable to take up yoga) and give him the sensation he is doing his best. Results will be rewarding, out of all proportions to the effort and will steadily move him towards the goal, frequently bringing him in touch with different levels of the Supreme Consciousness and occasionally with the Supreme Consciousness itself.

In this type of devotees, whatever the professed limitations are and however real those obstacles are, there is one valuable asset available, a genuine seeking. This is more than enough to accomplish the limited goal set out in the previous paragraph.

As soon as this genuine seeking commissions itself into action and relates powerfully in some fashion, to one of the following disciplines (methods) recommended by MOTHER, the very ordinary person he really is turns into an extraordinary centre of consciousness for Mother to act through. SHE has a list of dozens of "must" for sadhaks. Let us take any one of them suited to our nature or circumstances after very careful, thoughtful consideration. Once the DISCIPLINE is chosen, the condition is, it must be followed 100% and not 99%. As this is a partial discipline, its implementation needs to be perfect, if there is to be any result. Choose your discipline, commit yourself to follow it 100% and the yogic results spoken above will follow. No more there needs to be any despair about not being able to relate to Mother meaningfully in spite of inner sincerity. Any such discipline so chosen will soon, in the practice of it, bring in the very same original frustration through the back door as try however much, most of them will not lend themselves to be initiated into. This is a critical juncture. Perseverance is called for. Here we appear to be trying to do the whole in the name of the part and soon come face to face with the original difficulty of this yoga. Rare exceptions like Einstein, Napoleon, Gandhiji take an effort which ordinary people cannot; but every student takes a great effort to study, every youth takes an infinite effort to make his career a success and such an effort is open to great many people, not the exceptions only. Here too such a perseverance is called for and it surely meets with success. Any one of the following 20 methods when chosen, one needs to learn to initiate himself into it fully and maintain it. That is essential and that is THE part of the devotee, the rest is done by the method and all the results are brought in by Mother through HER methods and through the devotee's persistence. All these are the devotee's preparation for HER GRACE.

• 1. Mother has given 10 rules under psychic education for the sadhak. Not only the sadhak must follow all the 10 rules but he must follow the rules of the mental, vital, physical education, too. We now ask one of these rules to be followed in full.

1(i)       As the first rule is very difficult to follow, let us take the second. It says "seek no comfort, make all the progress possible in the situation". Many will feel that there is very little comfort in his life and he is already following this rule. There is a core in each of these disciplines which alone when followed will yield the results. In this rule which is of the physical realm, men are generally unconscious of the comforts they are used to. Comfort is understood as luxury and hence people sincerely declare they seek no luxury. The body is used to functioning in certain fashions, for example, we Indians feel alright when we sit on the floor for meditation but feel not alright when we sit on a chair. This is a physical habit. To act through the known habit is to seek comfort, to seek meditation disregarding the external traditional form of sitting is to make progress in Mother's Consciousness. To be able to look into oneself and see whether we are conforming to a known comfort or emphasising on the work to be done disregarding the known ways of the body, is the sincerity in this act. As we started with devotees who are genuine, it will be explicit to them on which side they are in each act. To know that and to endeavour to maintain that in all work, small or big, is doing it 100%. Having known that in one act you are in the traditional poise and determining to change over to the other side, one takes a yogic effort and with it flows into him Mother's Consciousness. To break this veil of dull habitual outer consciousness in this respect and make it alive is a difficult initial endeavour which is the minimum expected here. This minimum assured, results are assured.

1(ii)      Next rule is to take interest in what we do and not seek to do what we are interested in. This is a vital rule and very powerful. These are days of 'job satisfaction'. The most common complaint in life we hear is, 'I don't like this work. There is no way of doing what I like'. The key to the POWER here is to unbend the vital from its entrenchment and bend it towards Mother's Consciousness through Mother's attitude. People may do the work they do not like but to take interest in what they are not interested in is a yogic effort which is capable of rending the veil of human unconsciousness and relating the human personality to Mother's Consciousness. Children like play, not school. Jung says whenever a doctor mistakes a key while opening his office, it is invariably the key of his house meaning he is fond of home and rest not hospital and work. When someone spoke to a bank chairman on vacation, about his bank, he replied, "I have come here to forget my work". It is one thing we fulfill all the work entrusted to us whether we like it or not. It is duty. It is to be conscientious. It is quite another thing to be interested in a genuine way in cleaning the table, making beds, listening to endless discussions of pointless politicians. To do it successfully one needs to give up a vital desire for a work, and acquire a desire to work for Mother. We may not like serving drinks or food, but when we have an occasion to do so to someone whom we like very much or value very much, we can actually see we very much like serving for the sake of the person. To come to evince interest in any work, it is necessary to know all work is Mother's work. And that is more easily said than felt. That knowledge alone can generate the interest Mother speaks of. To acquire that knowledge and let that knowledge express in work, in all work is a revolutionary principle of Mother. He who endeavours to do so will soon feel, he is attempting the impossible. The impossible becomes possible if he goes deep down to the point in his being where he sincerely seeks Mother and from there takes an effort. To create this new attitude is all the work, it seems in the beginning. But to maintain it is equally difficult.

1(iii)     Make no complaints against another is the next rule. There are people who by temperament do not complain. There are others with the opposite temperament. This rule will suit the latter. After 20, 30 years of sincere efforts not to complain people have found, "I tried my best. Today I find myself complaining as much as 20 years ago. How can you not complain when a man comes late for the 100th time and is incorrigible?" Complaining has at its root a temperamental weakness or a certain inefficiency in oneself which he is unconscious of or unwilling to give up. Unless he takes a good look at it and is willing to change at that point, complaining will stay with him. General rule is people complain of others for their own deficiency. Impolite people complain of others' impoliteness and so on.

1(iv)     Outside events are symbols of what you are in your consciousness, is another rule. Though this is a very powerful rule not all can understand the implications here and use it. But, in a summary way if one understands the symbolism and accepts the yogic truth in it as a guidance for his progress, his progress will be ushered on to a high plateau.

1(v)      To make all the progress one can make in a given situation is a rule. To do a job well most people fail. If one can accomplish that much, it is a credit. To make yogic progress through doing a work is first of all difficult to understand. That is why Mother has abridged that rule saying to reach perfection in work is essential. To reach perfection in any work is a near impossibility and if one does so he does make yogic progress through that. But this rule goes farther. To do a work perfectly confines one to the physical plane only, though it is certainly a great ideal in life. For Mother to do a work means, to take an event and relate oneself to it from all parts of his being for the purposes of progress in consciousness in each part. Well, if I am cooking how can I make mental progress or if I am writing a book, how can I make physical progress through that? To do so much is to make an integral progress. Mother here speaks of the maximum progress the individual can make in this act. Only when man exhausts, SHE can come in.

1(vi)     The last four rules are to consecrate the act before speaking, eating, sleeping or acting. Consecration is fundamental to this yoga. To identify a movement of impulse (or thought or sensation) and to direct it to the central light already created and await its sanction to act is a great discipline. You may try and try for years and the movement will not come under your control. Suppose you want to reply to your brother who has written of his intention to visit you and you want him to come. Consecration at this point of the act of writing may lead to your not writing. A conflict issues. Successful consecration itself is difficult. For the mind to accept the guidance of that is more difficult. For one to succeed here, it is essential that in his mind he should come to an attitude of accepting the consequences of his consecration. Generation of such an attitude is the key here. If money is lost, it is easy to pray that it should be restored. It is difficult to consecrate the act and say, "I shall accept Mother's result". Mother may choose that it is good you lose the money and your consecration will effectuate it.

1(vii)    Consecration of sleeping or eating or acting are all powerful

1(viii) but consecration of speaking is much more powerful especially to inveterate talkers. Consecration of sleeping has the most beneficial effect of making sleep conscious. Consecration of eating prevents the tamas of the food material having sway over us. Any of these is a powerful method, if followed to perfection.

1(ix)     Consecration of speech is a special topic with Mother as SHE is an advocate of controlled speech and not Silence. Silence is easier than controlled speech. If one chooses this, he will find he is talking inside his head to compensate the outer silence. Even that is welcome but the discipline goes to the end only when the desire to talk is given up. One thinks he has something useful to communicate to another. This discipline is quite meaningful especially to those who enjoy talking. The lowest type among them are the dull witted whose first mental movements are exciting. He seeks immense gratification in expressing it as a newly learnt skill is enjoyed. He will continue to enjoy it for several decades. Better people feel likewise for sometime but later overcome the impulse. The man of small intelligence when he understands the significance of an idea steps into wonder and does not step out of it for life. They talk more for the satisfaction of hearing their own voice. In a company of better educated people you can find him enjoying himself talking without being aware in the least that everyone else is trying hard to be polite. For the intelligent man who likes talking, this is an impossible discipline but if ever he takes to it will yield the greatest result. As we are considering yogic progress, the above evolutionary samples are beside the point for us. For the will in the mind to accept the knowledge of the mind that talking leads to dissipation and must be confined to necessary communication, is the KEY here. Once this is achieved, consecration of speech will initiate one into yogic progress.

1(x)      The first rule of psychic education is not to be directed by the thoughts of the mind, as mind does not handle truths. For this to be successfully practiced, one should have already created a centre of reference capable of giving that guidance. This is the most difficult of these 10 rules but if one could follow it the progress will be at a higher level, the mental level.

• 2. Constant calling of Mother is something that can be listed here, if only calling is taken to the maximum depth of the being's opening and turns itself into a self repetition at that depth.
• 3. To make oneself totally positive in life is a desirable goal and a powerful tool in yoga. Mother wants neither positive nor negative attitudes but SHE wants the yogic attitude. Even if one can bring himself to total positivity in thoughts and sensations, it will suffice for our purpose. Sri Aurobindo in the first chapter of THE MOTHER lists the 14 stages in which negativity will usurp. One has to pass the tests in all these 14 steps.
• 4. Another way is to come forward to fully reverse oneself at the point of his main deficiency or difficulty like laziness, talkativeness, selfishness, jealousy, subjectivity, clumsiness, sqeamishness, dissipation, etc. As the list covers all human deficiencies we can only offer samples. A man is henpecked, another borrows endlessly and forgets about it, one is always self confident and another is obsessed with money.

If you are sincere enough to know your weakness and come forward to change to the very opposite, this can be a helpful discipline. If you have a cardinal weakness like volubility and people run away at your sight, it is still possible for you to believe that you are not talking excessively. And it is true of other weaknesses also. In such a case, if you go around your camp to know your main weakness and if several people mention the same item, you must be sincere enough to accept it as true and start acting on it.

For a man who is lazy, I would advise hard non-stop work. He should start with a 12 hour day and go on increasing it by an hour periodically till he reaches 18 hours of work during which he does not even sit. A flower merchant of Salem says how he gets up at 4.30 A.M. to dispatch goods in the first bus and goes to sleep at 11.30 P.M. and earns a lot of money which his father wastes. All successful people work hard. Our lazy devotee will do good to start on a 12 hour schedule and go up to 18 hours till his feet are in cramps, calf muscles are drained, eyes burn, throat parched. It does not matter what work he does. Anyone can always find useful work. Behind this physical effort, if he keeps up a remembrance of Mother, in 30 days he will step into another world, stop being a despicable clod, start being a human being and the inrush of peace will be enormous. Suppose he perseveres and breaks through the tamasic veil and sees the light, even the human light, he would never like to go back to laziness. He can break it in 30 days. If he is perverse, his body will go on strike inviting false illness whose agony is more poignant than the real illness. Even after 30 days, if ever he makes a respite, with a vengeance his body will go back to sleep and later coma, extending his present 12 hours sleep into 18 hours.

As his devotion to Mother is sincere, he has the capacity of overcoming his inertia, if he so chooses.

The talkative man can give himself a ration of 500 words a day like the YAKSHAN and go on reducing it by 50 or 25 a day till he reaches 200 or even 100 words a day. When he succeeds, he will be surprised to know that these 100 words are really enough for his work. Most people are useless for Mother's purpose but those who love to talk (and are unaware of it) are utterly useless. But even a useless person can initiate himself into Mother's Consciousness if he is willing.

Every human weakness has a positive alternate if the man really wants to shed it, and a helpful method can be described for each item.

• 5. Determination to solve all one's problems only through Mother is another rule. We seek external help, commission our capacities into action, try strategies good or otherwise when faced with problems. Relying on our own ability is common, exercising the official or social power is a known way. But, if a devotee decides to solve ALL his problems whenever they crop up only through Mother by faith or prayer or consecration or any other method advocated by HER, he will move into Mother's Consciousness. If he resorts to a doctor in illness, a political influence for a license, etc. it should be not out of faith in them but as a necessary instrument in the existing society. Faith must be in Mother and doctor must be the instrument (in his mind) for Mother to act through effectively. This is a method of faith and will suit many. To take it to exclusive perfection will be to take one's being into Mother's Consciousness.
• 6. Constant remembrance of Mother is less difficult than constant calling of Mother. Even this will reach the goal if it can be pursued to the end till remembrance turns into constant Presence.
• 7. One endowed with a keen intelligence and not inclined to disciplines, can take the writings of Mother and Sri Aurobindo for a fuller study and richer understanding. Being writings of the Spirit they do not easily divulge the full significance. Study based on an inner opening, with a view to making one's knowledge of yoga fuller and fuller at some point rends the veil of unconsciousness and leads to Mother's Light. For this method to yield the results, knowledge of writings should turn into knowledge of yoga, a real knowledge of YOGA that does not stumble or fumble either in principles or in deeds.
• 8. If the heart centre and the devotion to Mother is developed to the point of being moved to emotion in every essential emotional relationship with matters regarding Mother, the heart opens to Mother's Sweetness.
• 9. Making every work we have taken up into work of Mother and doing it in such a fashion as meditation sets in while doing it, will have the same result.
• 10. Meditation is the least in Mother's yoga. For HER the most important thing is HOW you are inwardly and the next best is work and meditation comes last in HER list. To meditate for an hour is enough according to HER but for that hour to be an hour of right meditation, one has to gear up the whole day towards it and after the meditation should take all efforts to keep up that poise during the day which in turn prepares for the next day's meditation. Taking the meditation to a certain intensity and purity and raising it constantly till the POISE of that meditation spreads all over the day is the KEY here.

III

It is not as if there are a certain number of fixed methods for the human being to break into the Divine Consciousness. What is said above is indicative of the type of effort required. Any one method or combination of methods can achieve the same result. As Mother summarised the yogic processes, they are aspiration and sincerity.

The human being is a portion carved out of the Divine Consciousness. To enable the form to be effective limitation of the being to itself, separation from the original consciousness and a centripetal force to emphasize the separateness -- selfishness -- were created. The most perfectly finished form of these forces is the EGO. In trying to divest this ego we find it so all-pervasive, all-inclusive, omnipresent in the human existence and all-powerful that it is natural for us to equate the embodied being with the Ego. It is one thing to say that the ego is determinative of all our actions and another thing to say we are only the ego. As the society is a vast, large body of human individuals existing in million ways and expressing its intensities in million other ways, the embodied human being is a vast entity. The society has, by its own choice, handed over its power and destiny to the government which, in practice, is all-powerful over the society to the point of creating an illusion that Government is synonymous with Society. Ego plays a role in the human being similar to the government in the society. It is very powerful but we must remember that the government is created by the society and the society has the power to change or abolish the government. The embodied being is Divine in origin but granted its major powers to the ego at one stage of its development when ego played a positive role.

As no government, however rotten it is, will come forward to quit on its own, the ego does not have the power to dissolve itself. That power lies in the consciousness of the being and when it comes into contact with the original Consciousness, it becomes stronger in its purpose. In the mature soul, where growth and progress of parts of being are no longer necessary, the consciousness of the being occasionally gets a glimpse of its parent. From that point of time starts another movement which is decisive. To help that movement to complete itself, the best way is to dissolve the ego. The main knot of the ego is in the thinking mind, says Sri Aurobindo and the main support for the ego is the organisation of the physical mind.

Mother says the being does not suffer pain, nor even the body. What suffers is the physical mind, the nervous sheath of the being. While under anesthesia the conscious mind does not suffer pain but Mother says the subconscious feels all the pain. So also when the pain is felt in a disease, it is felt by the physical mind alone and the entire being outside the physical mind does not suffer.

Ego is an organisation. Physical mind is a structure. Both are decisive and determinative of the human being's functionings but, however important and powerful they are, they are NOT the entire being. Ego is like the skin entirely encompassing the being but only a skin, a very thin little part toughly organised.

To achieve, to arrive, to evolve out of the cocoon, to get a glimpse of the Divine, Mother says one can do so in 12 months if the decision is made and kept alive in the consciousness. If it is made once, he will arrive in this life, says SHE.

The dozen methods of Mother we discussed above are in this line describing the yogic core of the KEY in each method to arrive at that momentous decision. People are often mistaken by a desire. A desire to achieve is different from a decision. A desire raises a possibility, but a decision gathers ALL one's energy and directs its effectively towards achieving the goal. The endeavour made in this essay is to help convert the desire into a decision.

IV

We have said in the management book that energy is the basis, psychic centre gives direction, organisation creates power, skills translate power into results, corporate values enhance levels of performance, education is the key and training is indispensable. Our message to any company is they can double the performance, repeat it periodically or even every year, limits are non-existent. Best of companies, we have said, have scope for endless improvement, good companies can become best, losing companies turn into earning companies, bankruptcy avoided and ushered into prosperity. All this we said based on our knowledge of yoga. And now to re-apply these statements to the human being, the mind, vital and physical, the very body, it is clear that for purposes of coming to Mother, having HER Grace, to be touched by the Spirit, to be ushered into the higher consciousness no one is barred, except the unwilling.

Even to the company which is a sinking ship the message is, "Don't say it is too late. Don't speak about impossibility. Tell me 'Are you willing?' If you are there is a way out". The question 'I am unfit' does not exist but 'I am unwilling' does exist. The unfit, if he is willing, becomes fit. Willingness is the first thing and willingness is the last thing, the rest is non-existent, an illusion. Anyone can begin at any time of his life and make extraordinary progress. Limits are there for the final transformation, not for the initial progress. Make all the progress you can make and that must be a great reward, far greater than you could have ever imagined.

There is one test, an acid test, which anyone can silently administer to himself and know the results. People come to Mother, accept HER as the Divine. This is a great decision their souls, unconscious to their personalities, have made and their external personalities have consented. All who have come to Mother, in one way or another, have made this momentous decision and the change called for at that level. Upto this point their sincerity is pure. Beyond this point, starts their old world habits inside Mother's kingdom, "I am a son of a Zamindar", "My family is the friend of Nehrus", "We are of the purest orthodoxy", "I am not like you, a Shudra, I am of the highest birth", "My education is in foreign countries", "My mind is of the keenest intellect", "I am affectionate, not dry like you", "You are lazy, I am hard working", etc. etc. All the existing social, psychological, personal values are brought in to hold oneself in self-esteem. It is all, entirely, beside the point, if anything a reaffirmation of the social or personal ego. To compare oneself favourably against another, however true or false it is, in matters of honesty, purity, efficiency, goodness and to make it serve as a basis for non-action in moving towards Mother, is a universal phenomenon. As a social value what you are proud about may be true. (In most cases even that is not always true, but only a claim.) But, for Mother, NO social value is of any use, rather a positive hindrance. If you find yourself different now from what you had been and that difference is real, that alone matters for Mother. Suppose YOU are an intelligent person whose intelligence has won you credits in life, now, after taking to Mother, you put aside intelligence, and value your new attitude of putting aside intelligence, you become valuable to Mother in that measure. You will also find in your work for Mother, nothing responds to intelligence but everything responds to the attitude of disinheriting intelligence. A big mistake is always made here. I would like to say 'often', but it is better to say 'always'. People come around and say, "When I put aside my intelligence, nothing responds but all the response I so far got is to my intelligence. My experience is contrary to your explanation". This is 'true'. What has happened here is he remains in his own centre, Mother's Consciousness has in its usual way, has fortified that centre too and that centre, his intelligence, is getting a greater response which appears to be very much. He has not shifted to Mother but still is in himself, now getting stronger in his old personality. If he looks carefully, the few extraordinary responses he had had would have been when he had brushed aside his intelligence or when his intelligence was of no use or even failed. That is Mother's response and the earlier one life response Mother had responded copiously to his inner devotion at a moment when his personality and its intelligence withdrew. Life responds to greater intelligence in a greater way but it is paltry when compared with Mother's response.

This entire paper is meant for those who are willing to put aside their own old value whenever it exists as a reality, not for those whose personality value is greater than others. The acid test is, "How far I have given up my old values?"

Once a devotee comes forward to affirm new values of Mother and affirm too giving up the old values, he becomes fully eligible for the experiments we have described earlier. And all the suggestions given to companies are relevant, in certain modified forms, to the devotee's experimentation.

V

For one to make a meaningful beginning the method advocated by Sri Aurobindo is to concentrate in the heart or head till the psychic comes forward. A less drastic tie or more amenable method is sought by many. Some methods have been described here with that view.

We explained something about the physical mind. Psychic coming forward to lead the evolution is not enough to put the physical mind away once for all. As long as one is in the body the physical mind is there functioning and it can only be destroyed and not transformed, said Sri Aurobindo. Mother says the physical mind has shown signs of changing and transformation. Even after the spiritualisation of the being commenced the physical mind's toughness persists. Mother says the Supermind sits as a child on the physical mind kicking. Which means even after the physical mind has shown a tendency to transformation in Mother, this is a metaphor in the subtle plane describing the tenacity of the physical mind. Though the physical mind yields to Supermind, the Supermind has a tough time with it like a child barred from entry and is kicking in its stubbornness. The one power the human being has against this physical mind is the consent of its free will. When the free will chooses not to respond to the physical mind's habitual responses, the physical mind is helpless and instantaneously the Supreme Peace of THAT descends and the being is bathed in the Lord's Presence, its immutable Peace.

That is what Mother constantly speaks about when SHE says, trying to change the physical mind is still activity, not quietude. That is what SHE refers to when SHE says one must give up all one's habits before saying to the Lord, "What you want?" Whether the free will of the human being had this capacity of being bathed in Lord's Peace before 1956, the descent of the Supermind, is not known. Supermind is powerful but not against the physical mind's rigidity is Sri Aurobindo's experience. Mother found the physical mind consenting to be transformed. This may be due to the fact that Mother's experiments with physical mind was after the descent of the Supermind.

By sincerity, Mother means the free will not letting itself influenced by the physical mind's habits. Even that sincerity goes to release the psychic and works through the Spirit bringing the Supermind down. But now that sincerity is rewarded with another response, a response from the Supreme Peace which Mother values more than any other yogic endeavour.

All these gives us a clue in our endeavour. Placed as we are in our own wonderful situation of a devotee, how best can we use this knowledge? Concentration is desirable but meditation that comes by itself is better; prayer is a master link with the Almighty but consecration is more for our purpose; and consecration fully matures only in surrender. Efforts taken to surrender one's impurities are laudable but to say 'Let Thy will be done' is better. Better still is to quietly await the Lord's Peace not even activating one's will to say 'Let Thy will be done'. If this ABSOLUTE quiet has brought Mother Lord's Peace in mountains, we too in our daily actions see that the same Peace enters us similarly if we refuse to give the habitual response. When the husband lets the agriculture season pass without cultivating even one acre, the wife, even if she is an angel cannot refrain from boiling with anger. Several miniature volcanoes burst in our life and every such occasion is a fit time to practise this discipline. To teach oneself the Patience, a mental attitude, an attitude in the nerves that the habitual response of irritation, anger, etc. are not to be permitted, is a great discipline that yield the Lord Himself as his Peace. It is a great discipline for a small man to secure the ultimate result, however momentary it is. In doing so, the devotee sets his face firmly against the physical mind's functionings. Before tyrannical masters obedient servants and subordinates give this response in behaviour. A loving mother or an affectionate friend gives similar response in character and personality. All this will do good to a devotee but he is expected to give the same type of response from his consciousness, if he should invite the Supramental Peace. That is a great beginning for a small soul achieved through the knowledge Mother now offers after HER own experiments on the body.

The entire Agenda is dotted with several such instances, clues, descriptions that can be taken up usefully by anyone who fits our description in the beginning. Once he sees some such result he is on the royal road to success. Whatever is expected of him or not, let us be clear that no half-hearted efforts will yield, as by magic, the ultimate result. Ultimate results require total efforts. What is offered here is not a gimmick in place of serious discipline. We offer here a disillusionment to those sincere souls who genuinely feel that they are not meant for this high endeavour.

VI

When Mother advises us to say to the ailing body, "Shut up, idiot cells, keep quiet", SHE is asking us to speak to the cells not to respond in their own way. As the words are articulated, it is the mind in the cells that listen to the instructions and respond by not causing further trouble. This is perhaps the most interesting experiment SHE had made.

One example of what Mother is asking of us in return of the final Vision (and not the boon) is HER insistence of an attitude of absolute trust in the Divine Presence. SHE says such a trust ushers one into the immutable Peace instantaneously. On one side, when absolute trust is mentioned it looks like the impossible goal; on the other side the promise of the instantaneous reward makes it look like a simple method. It is neither, also it is both.

To reach the goal of yoga the process is reversal of consciousness, the embodied human consciousness must reverse its humanity into divinity retaining its evolutionary gains so that the next species and its consciousness may be born out of it. Prior to this is the reversal of personality, a product of nature. How great an accomplishment this is can be seen if we understand that the antecedent step of reversal of character takes 35 years of yogic effort. This is the second stage of a scale in which the first is reversal of behaviour which means not expressing anger, irritation, jealousy, doubt, opinion, etc., in itself a tremendous effort. Attitude is a part of behaviour and can be said as temporary behaviour. People's attitude to women taking to employment has recently changed. It means man remaining the same he accepts a new understanding which his emotions endorse. Personally one can change his attitude from "Congress (I) will not deliver the goods" to "Rajiv will perform". Such a change in one occurs in a short period. An attitude is not a commitment or expression of character but an expression of the then behaviour. Mother asks "Have an attitude, just an attitude of absolute faith in the Divine". Surely this is the least discipline SHE could offer. If this is accepted, Mother says the bath of the Lord, the descent of the Supreme occurs for the period of the attitude.

When in earlier times to invite such a descent it is not an attitude or character, etc. that is enough but a reversal of consciousness, however brief it is. From this point of view what Mother asks of us is little. As the Supermind has descended and its consciousness passed several stages of descent, manifestation, becoming superman consciousness and further, this great opportunity is now open to us. Hence the result is great.

Next arises a question of how to accomplish this? We all certainly have faith in Mother that SHE is Divine. It is the faith of our souls and not mind. To bring that faith through the journey of personality, character, behaviour and attitude is an exercise we all constantly undergo in the society. We all unconsciously possess the knowledge of acquiring an attitude. All that we have to do now is to make that knowledge conscious and initiate steps to acquire the results of that knowledge.

It can be accomplished in more than one way. Giving an opening in the being is one way Mother always suggests, SHE even asks us to imagine that a full opening of the being starts from the head and goes all the way through to the bottom, repeating a mantra. "Thy Will, Thy Will". If done rightly, SHE says one arrives at the vision. Deconditioning the different layers of habits formed over millennia is another way. Mother says that way the habit of death can be overcome. A third way is to extend the sincerity to parts that are not yet sincere. If the mind is fully sincere or honest in its goal of surrender and the vital is not and working in the opposite direction, to acquire "vital honesty" will further our aim. All the three of them are similar if not exactly the same.

Let us consider the second one of shedding the habits. The human being, being a part of creation, is torn out of the Supreme Divine Consciousness. Evolving outside the Supreme Consciousness, almost untouched by it in its conscious directions, the human existence is of two parts -- (1) the involuntary functions and the other (2) voluntary functions. The involuntary functions are inaccessible to our conscious will. Only the hatayogi has mastered that region and has access and control there. We are supposed to have full mastery and control over our voluntary functions. As time passes the conscious voluntary functions gradually become unconscious and comes under the mechanism known as reflex. The human body has even developed a special centre away from the conscious mind to control this reflex. To become conscious of all our voluntary functions is the first step before having mastery over them or deconditioning them. It means we should observe ourselves as a second person. Theoretically this is possible. To gain mastery over the involuntary functions is, theoretically, an extension of this mastery.

Our dress, hair style, food and many other items are, considered rationally, the least part of our life and our inner being is scarcely touched by them. For one who is used to pants and shirt, if he is asked to go to the bazaar in dhoti and towel, we know how difficult it is, perhaps not possible. Suppose a man is to put on woman's clothes -- even in private -- would make him uncomfortable and feel funny. Theoretically food, hair style, place of living, level of comfort, language spoken, dress, etc. etc. are beside the point for yoga; but how many sanyasins can give up ochre robes? Practically the man is - the aspiring devotee - only that. Mentally we understand the theory but the vital feels revolted, physically the intestines will not digest a food we are not used to. If only, one can observe himself as a second person and teaches his vital the knowledge his mind has acquired -- that they are all beside the point -- he makes a progress. And then he can extend that knowledge, practice and mastery to the physical, e.g. he may be able to relish, eat, digest, absorb and feel fine with any type of food as long as it is hygienic.