Fear
Fear is always a very bad adviser.
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It is the fear—more or less conscious—which does almost all the mischief.
Without fear nothing can happen.
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Do not fear, keep your confidence, all these troubles will leave you.
With my love and blessings.
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Stop fearing and the bothers will stop also.
A child of mine cannot fear.
Blessings.
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My protection is always with you and nothing bad can happen.
But you must take the decision to shake off the fear and then my force can work fully.
27 October 1937
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Do not torment yourself, do not worry; above all try to banish all fear; fear is a dangerous thing which can give importance to something which had none at all. The mere fear of seeing certain symptoms renew themselves is enough to bring about this repetition.
24 July 1945
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241This fear comes from weakness of nerves and of the vital. This fear must be got rid of, before any attempt is made to follow the path of Yoga.
9 March 1949
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Yoga and fear do not go together.
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You are frightened because your breathing seems to stop when you try to concentrate. Don’t enter this path if you are so full of fears. Suppose it comes to the worst; then what will happen? You may die—and then? What great harm will be done if you are dead? Our Yoga is not for cowards; if you have no courage, better leave it—your fears will bring disaster.§
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What can he fear who belongs to the Divine? Can he not walk, his soul expanding and his brow illumined, upon the path the Divine traces for him, whatever it may be, even if it is altogether incomprehensible to his limited reason?
14 October 1954
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All fear must be overcome and replaced by a total confidence in the Divine Grace.
6 June 1955
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If you are not frightened, there is no harm—it is not the moon, it is the fear which harms.
9 May 1963
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Nothing can harm you if you do not fear.
So, fear not, be quiet and calm—all will be all right.
With love and blessings.
15 October 1966
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The first thing from which you must cure yourself once for ever, is Fear.
It is more dangerous than the worst disease.
With love and blessings.
9 October 1967
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There is nothing to fear—all is the Lord—there is nothing else than the Lord; the Lord alone exists and all that tries to frighten us is only a silly and meaningless disguise of the Lord.
Cheer up—the way is open before you, shake off this obsession of illness and bring down the Divine Calm.
Then everything will be all right.
With love and blessings.
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You must not be afraid. Have full trust in the Divine who is Love, Light and Life.
8 March 1972
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Go safely to Siddhapur and do not fear.
It is only fear which hurts, not the “spirits”. When people who have left their body appear in front of you, you must not fear—it is generally because they are restless and lack peace—give them a good thought and wish them to be in peace and it will be over.
In any case you can tell them to go to Mother and they will not bother you any more.
Go to Siddhapur and avoid unpleasant company if there is any, but always remember that it is only fear which harms and that with confident faith in the Divine’s Grace you are safe.
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You can be entirely free from fear only when you have driven out of you all violence.
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Get rid of all violence and you will no longer have any fear.
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Fear is hidden consent. When you are afraid of something, it means that you admit its possibility and thus strengthen its hand. It can be said that it is a subconscient consent. Fear can be 244overcome in many ways. The ways of courage, faith, knowledge are some of them.§
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Fear is slavery, work is liberty, courage is victory.
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Doubt
Doubt is not a sport to indulge in with impunity; it is a poison which drop by drop corrodes the soul.
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We must decide to get rid of all doubts, they are among the worst enemies of our progress.
29 July 1954
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Depression
Do not pay attention to the depression and act as if it was not there.
31 March 1934
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Why don’t you try to read something beautiful and interesting and turn your attention away from yourself? That is the best remedy.
6 September 1935
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245Do not indulge in such ridiculous ideas. “Madness” and “hell” and “dark cell” are all in your imagination.
You had better replace them by the sense of my love and blessings.
9 October 1937
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My dear child, I hope your poem is only a poem and that you are not truly suffering from depression. Indeed, depression is the worst of all illnesses and we must reject it with as much energy as we use to get rid of a disease.
With my love and blessings always.
30 January 1946
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It is the devil of depression and despondency that we shall slay tonight—so that all those who have the sincere will to get rid of this disease will receive the necessary help to conquer.
20 October 1950
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A depression is always unreasonable as it leads nowhere. It is the most subtle enemy of the Yoga.
31 May 1955
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I have only one thing to say: Depression is a bad adviser.
My love is always with you. Have faith and you will be all right.
It is the depression that gives you bad health.
Blessings.
28 October 1967
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246It is the ego that gets depressed.
Do not mind it. Go on quietly with your work and the depression will disappear.
18 August 1971
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At these moments of depression or of revolt, no fresh decision must be taken under the impulse of the wrong movement, but practically one must go on with the usual routine, quiet and undisturbed.
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When you feel unhappy like that, it means that you have a progress to make. You can say that we always need to progress, it is true. But at times our nature gives its consent to the needed change and then everything goes smoothly, even happily. On the contrary sometimes the part that has to progress refuses to move and clings to its old habits through inertia, ignorance, attachment or desire. Then, under the pressure of the perfecting force, the struggle starts translating itself into unhappiness or revolt or both together.
The only remedy is to keep quiet, look within oneself honestly to find out what is wrong and set to work courageously to put it right.
The Divine Consciousness will always be there to help you if your endeavour is sincere; and the more sincere your endeavour the more the Divine Consciousness will help and assist you.
19 May 1952
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Periods of obscuration are frequent and common; generally, it is enough to keep quiet without worrying, knowing that these are spiritual nights which alternate with the full light of the days. 247But to be able to remain in peace you must keep in your heart gratitude towards the Divine for all the help He gives. If gratitude also is veiled, the obscure periods last much longer. There is, however, a swift and effective remedy: it is to keep always burning in your heart the flame of purification, the aspiration for progress, the intensity, the ardour of consecration. This flame is kindled in the heart of all who are sincere; you must not let ingratitude cover it up with its ashes.
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You must remember one thing: the dark periods are inevitable. When your psychic is active, you feel a delight without any apparent reason. It continues for some time and again the same mental or vital reactions come in and you go back to the darkness. This will continue. The brighter days will become longer and the dark periods will come after longer intervals and for shorter duration till they finally disappear. Till then you must know that the sun is there behind the clouds and you need not worry. You must have the confidence of a child—a confidence that there is someone who takes care of you and you can entirely depend on him.§
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Suffering
My word to you is: Do not cherish suffering and suffering will leave you altogether. Suffering is far from being indispensable to progress. The greatest progress is made through a steady and cheerful equanimity.
10 May 1932
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The world is full of sufferings and sorrows.
248One should try never to be the cause of any additional suffering.
10 October 1970
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The only remedy for all human suffering: divine love.
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Turn towards the Divine, all your sufferings will disappear.
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Do not take the sorrows of life for what they seem to be; they are in truth a way to greater achievements.
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Laziness, Tiredness, Fatigue, Tamas
It is a dangerous illness: laziness.
30 July 1936
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Tiredness shows lack of will for progress. When you feel tired or fatigued that is lack of will for progress.
Fire is always burning in you.
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Fatigue comes from doing without interest the things you do.
Whatever you do you can find interest in it, provided you take it as the means of progressing; you must try to do better and better what you are doing, the will for progress must always be there and then you take interest in what you do, whatever it is. The most insignificant occupation can prove interesting if you take it that way.
249But even the most attractive and important activity will soon lose all its interest for you if the will for progress towards an ideal perfection is not there while you act.
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Take no notice of it and go on with your programme as usual. It is the quickest way of getting rid of it.
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It is because you are receptive to the force when you work and that sustains you. But when you are not under the strain of the work you are less receptive. You must learn to be receptive in all circumstances and always—especially when you take rest—it must not be the “rest” of inertia but a true rest of receptivity.
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The forces behind the cyclone were not hostile but full of transforming power. You did the right thing, and I can assure you that to go inward and to receive the force is more helpful than to throw oneself into an agitated action. Certainly tamas is not good, but it is only through surrender to the Divine Consciousness that tamas can be changed.
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Tamas and sluggishness.
250Become more and more conscious.
22 October 1964
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Material Desires
Do not expect any satisfaction from physical life and you will no more be tied to it.
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For our passage in the material world, what is indispensable to our life and action is put at our disposal according to the place we should occupy there.
The more we are consciously in contact with our inner being, the more exact are the means we are given.
3 June 1970
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What is truly needed will surely come.
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Things must be asked for only when truly needed.
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What is bad is slavery. Slavery to abstinence as well as slavery to needs. What comes we take but always ready to let it go, if it goes…
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251Greed (For Food)
Greed for anything concerning physical consciousness, so-called necessities and comfort of whatever nature—this is one of the most serious obstacles to sadhana.
Each little satisfaction you get through greed is one step backward from the goal.
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When you have a desire you are governed by the thing you desire, it takes possession of your mind and your life, and you become a slave. If you have greed for food you are no more the master of food, it is the food that masters you.
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A sadhak must eat to satisfy the needs of his body and not to meet the demands of his greed.
4 April 1937
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If you prefer the pleasures of the palate to the union with the Divine, it is your own look-out and I have nothing to say, except that I do not approve, but each one must be free to choose whether he will rise above his lower nature or sink down in the material pit. My help is always for those who choose the higher path.
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It is an inner attitude of freedom from attachment and from greed for food and desire of the palate that is needed, not undue diminution of the quantity taken or any self-starvation. One must take sufficient food for the maintenance of the body and its strength and health, but without attachment or desire.
27 April 1937
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252It would be a hundred times more effective to never waste food than to cut down one meal as a show and to eat more before and after.
A strong, ardent, sincere campaign against the waste of food is essential and full-heartedly I approve of it.
Let the inmates of the Ashram show their goodwill and collaboration in never eating more than they can digest and never ask for more than they can eat.
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There is no easy way to get over physical animality and vital greed. It is only an obstinate perseverance that can succeed.
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Desires, Impulses and Self-Control
If each one took the resolution of mastering oneself and controlling one’s impulses, the situation would become more clear.
When people allow their consciousness to remain in a turmoil, all their life becomes a turmoil.
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An impulsive person who cannot control himself has a disordered life.
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First learn to know yourself perfectly and then to control yourself perfectly. You will be able to do it by aspiring at every moment. It is never too early to begin, never too late to continue.
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253Control over the lower impulsions is the first step towards realisation.
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Renunciation of desires: the essential condition for realisation.
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Yes, we must keep the seat of our consciousness in the higher being and do whatever we are doing from there, not allowing the lower, blind and selfish movements and reactions to spoil our work.
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To accept the uglinesses of the lower nature under the pretext that they exist—if this is what is meant by realism—does not form part of the sadhana. Our aim is not to accept these things and enjoy them, but to get rid of them and create a life of spiritual beauty and perfection. That cannot be done as long as we accept these uglinesses.
To be aware that they are there and to reject them, not to let them touch us is one thing; to accept them and submit to them is quite another.
Beware of what pulls you downward. Do not yield to any lower instinct. Keep intact your aspiration for the Divine.
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Yielding to desires is not the way of getting rid of them. There is no end to desires—each one which is satisfied is at once replaced by another one and they go on clamouring more and more.
It is only by conquering the desires that you can get rid of them, by coming out of this consciousness of the lower nature and rising to a higher consciousness.
29 April 1930
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254Refuse to do anything whatsoever which leads you away from the Divine.
18 October 1934
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If you want to become conscious of my presence in you and to be delivered from hostile attacks, you must renounce any attempt to satisfy your desires. Only when the vital has lost all hope of seeing its desires satisfied does it consent to be spiritualised.
My help and blessings are with you.
3 September 1935
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A desire which knows that it will never be satisfied at once vanishes.
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All the lower movements have to be conquered if ever anything divine is to be established upon earth.
18 March 1936
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There is no greater victory than that of controlling oneself.
3 May 1954
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It is indispensable to perceive the lower movements of your being, in a detached and scientific manner, as a witness with clear vision and insight. But you must never allow these movements to express and assert themselves as if they had the right to exist and govern the rest of the being. In other words, you must never act under the impulse of these movements, never physically translate their suggestions into speech or action, never permit their orders to be carried out in any inner or outer gesture.
19 September 1956
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255Keep quiet, try to detach yourself and observe as a witness, to prevent all possibility of acting on impulse.§
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Do not act under an impulse.
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Never forget that, as much outside as in the Ashram, if you want to lead a happy life, you must be the master of your lower nature and control your desires and vital impulses; otherwise there is no end to the miseries and the troubles.
20 September 1960
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At every moment of life you are put in the presence of a choice between the Grace and your personal satisfaction.
13 September 1961
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One cannot overcome one’s desires by making oneself weak but only in strength, balance and peace.
7 June 1964
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If one is not master of one’s desires, one cannot be master of one’s thoughts.
22 August 1964
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The Grace works for progress on the path. The satisfaction of desire may also serve that purpose in showing the inanity of desire.
And the good of yesterday may no more be good tomorrow.
256So follow your inspiration and my blessings are with you.
30 May 1968
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You have my love and grace and blessings.
But if you are to feel them you must be disciplined, attentive and concentrated; above all you must not listen to any of your desires and fancies.
In life, one must choose between a disordered and useless life of desires and that of an ascent into the light of aspiration and mastery of one’s lower nature.
16 June 1971
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No self-indulgence and no desire.
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To conquer a desire brings more joy than to satisfy it.
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Self-mastery is the greatest conquest, it is the basis of all enduring happiness.
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Continence: control over oneself.
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To be continent is to allow no other movements in the being (mental, vital and physical) than those strictly indispensable to manifest the Divine’s Will.
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257Ego
The ego thinks of what it wants and has not. This is its constant preoccupation.
The soul is aware of what it is given and lives in endless gratitude.
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Abolition of the ego: one exists only by the Divine and for the Divine.
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All bitterness in life always comes from the ego refusing to abdicate.
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All that happens is to teach us one and the same lesson, unless we get rid of our ego there is no peace either for ourselves or for others. And without ego life becomes such a wonderful marvel!…
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We can contemplate the divine smile when we have conquered our ego.
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Without the play of ego, there would be no conflicts; and if there were not in the vital a tendency to drama, there would be no dramatic happenings in life.
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258Yes, those who live in their ego live constantly in an ugly drama. If people were a little less selfish things would not be so bad.
Meanwhile we must meet all these adverse circumstances with patience, endurance and equanimity.
23 October 1935
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The extent of your difficulties gives you the measure of your ego.
23 March 1957
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Divine Mother,
My giant enemy ego is sitting directly in my path and will not let me pass. In what manner should I fight him?
Ignore him and go through.
12 May 1966
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To get over our ego is not an easy task.
Even after overcoming it in the material consciousness, we meet it once more—magnified—in the spiritual.
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Selfishness
By a complete consecration to the Divine and a loving surrender to the Divine’s Will.
Blessings.
15 May 1944
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259Each thought turned towards oneself veils the Divine.
25 August 1944
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We must be free of all selfishness to serve properly the Divine’s Cause.
26 May 1954
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Selfishness and self-pity lead nowhere. You would do better to get rid of them—for it is these two narrow movements which prevent you from feeling the Divine’s help and love.
25 March 1965
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Pride
Pride: a great obstacle to progress.
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It is not the soul but the ego and its pride that feel defeat and humiliation.
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Vanity
Vanity: one of the most frequent forms of falsehood.
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It is better to be than to seem to be.
Vanity is the most serious obstacle to true greatness.
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260There was a time when your amour-propre was a great help. It saved you from doing many stupid things by telling you that they were beneath your dignity. But now it is the greatest obstacle in your way.§
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Ambition
Certainly this is correct. Ambition is always a source of disturbance and confusion.
16 May 1934
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Certainly, action without ambition and egoistic calculation is the condition of peace and felicity—both inner and outer.
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Behind all ambitions there is a Truth waiting for the opportune time to manifest. Now that the ambition is gone, it is time for the truth (the capacities and abilities) to manifest.
Take great care not to become “swollen”; but I am with you, helping you, in order to do something interesting.
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261Jealousy
Certainly—but then you must do it in all sincerity and not accept these movements of jealousy in any way.
16 April 1934
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There is never any reason for jealousy. It is a very low and ignorant movement.
20 April 1934
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Jealousy comes from a narrowness of the mind and a weakness of the heart. It is a great pity that so many are attacked by it.
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Jealousy with its escort of slanders is the output of the weak and the small.
It deserves more pity than anger, and must leave us perfectly indifferent to it, enjoying the bliss of our unshakable certitude.
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Quarrels
You cannot expect the whole world to be at your service and everything to happen as you fancy it to be more convenient for you.
262You must stop quarrelling with everybody and about everything; otherwise how can you expect to make any progress in yoga?
23 September 1932
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Keep this attitude—never side with anybody nor take up any personal quarrel—think only of the Divine Peace, Harmony, Light and Happiness and become more and more their purified and quiet instrument.
18 September 1934
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You must never forget that I disapprove of quarrels and always consider that both sides are equally wrong. To surmount one’s feelings, preferences, dislikes and impulses, is an indispensable discipline here.
1 October 1943
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Of course, X told me the story in a very different way—but I am used to the fact that each one tells me things from a particular angle, the one which is most favourable to him—and I do not give much importance to that. There is only one thing I always regret: the useless quarrels that make life so difficult when, with a little mutual goodwill, everything could be settled harmoniously.
21 July 1947
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Pardon and blessings are there, but one way or another a different arrangement must be made to stop these quarrels.
Love and blessings.
26 October 1948
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This is a very good opportunity to test the value of the relation. You must absolutely stop all quarrels. They are harmful for the sadhana of both of you.
Try your level best, and if you cannot succeed, then you will have to give up the relation.
23 September 1951
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In quarrels I never interfere, because surely both are wrong.
10 May 1953
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When two persons quarrel, always both are in the wrong.
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It is always wrong to quarrel, even if one is not the aggressor.
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When you start a quarrel it is as if you were declaring war on the Divine’s work.
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Yes, all these quarrels are a very sad thing—they interfere terribly in the work and make everything more difficult.
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Before getting angry at the mistakes of others one should always remember one’s own mistakes.
22 July 1954
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264You must get rid of all inner as well as all outer movements of anger, impatience and dislike. If things go wrong or are done wrongly, you will simply say, “The Mother knows” and go on quietly doing or getting things done as well as you can without friction.§
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That one feels sad for one’s own faults,—this may, if necessary, be useful to strengthen one’s resolution to correct them.
But that one can be offended by another’s bad conduct, this has truly nothing to do with the spiritual life and the service of the Divine.
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To be above offence or insult makes one truly great.
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As for ill-will, jealousy, quarrels and reproaches, one must sincerely be above all that and reply with a benevolent smile to the bitterest words; and unless one is absolutely sure of himself and his reactions, it would be better, as a general rule, to keep silent.
6 October 1960
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As usual, it is only a misunderstanding, and also as usual, the ego of each one, by its reaction, magnifies the thing and aggravates it. But it is easy to arrange, and, with the goodwill of all, I am sure that all will be well.
265I consider that we are at an excellent occasion for collective and individual Sadhana and that is why I engage myself in it and take special interest in it.
We do not work for the success of X’s play, or of Y’s dance, or of Z’s scenario.
We want to render in physical terms, as perfectly as possible, the inspiration sent by the Lord for the accomplishment of His work upon earth.
And for that each individual soul is a helper and a collaborator, but each human ego is a limitation and an obstacle.
1960
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It is obviously very regrettable to allow oneself to be upset by such little things, and if each one gave more thought to his work as the really important thing, all these little quarrels would be seen for what they are, that is, as utterly ridiculous.
I hope that everything will be settled soon and that harmony will reign once more among the bakery-workers.
With my blessings.
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My blessings and my help are always with you and with those who work in the bakery, so that harmony may reign among you more and more.
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This world is full of pitiable miseries. But of all beings those are the most to be pitied who are so small and so weak that they cannot avoid being nasty.
18 September 1963
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This is just what the Supreme Lord says to Himself when He sees the life of men upon earth.
Love and blessings.
14 September 1969
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We speak of union and say we are working for it. But the spirit of quarrelling is in our midst. Shall we not conquer this insincerity?
I am here to ask you to do it. And the best way is to join in the service of the Divine.
Blessings.
12 March 1972
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No disputes, no quarrels—the sweetness of a life without clashes.
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Take the division out of the heart and then speak of no division.
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Narrowness and One-Sidedness
The whole trouble comes from the fact that you cannot harmonise with someone unless he is in agreement with your own ideas and his opinion and way of doing things are in conformity with yours.
You must widen your consciousness and understand that everyone has his own law. It is necessary to find the ground of understanding and harmony in a happy combination of individual wills and not to try that all may be the same in an identical will and action.
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267One of the chief obstacles to the establishment of a progressive harmony is our eagerness to prove to an opponent that he is wrong and we are right.
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It depends on how much each one cares more for harmony than for the triumph of his own will!
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How do you expect others to keep to an arrangement when you are not doing it yourself?
How do you hope to get out of your shallowness if you remain always one-sided in your perception of things?
June 1931
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X is quite justified in thinking and feeling as he does, but he must understand that the others also are justified in their thinking and feeling although it differs from his and he ought not to despise them and call them bad names.
Among human beings, the most widely spread disease is mental narrowness. They understand only what is in their own consciousness and cannot tolerate anything else.
24 September 1953
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A person who considers only his own opinion becomes more and more narrow.
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For each problem there is a solution that can give satisfaction to everybody, but for finding this ideal solution each one must want it, instead of meeting the others with the will to enforce one’s own preference.
268Enlarge your consciousness and aspire for the satisfaction of all.
28 August 1971
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You see only your side of the question, but if you want to widen your consciousness it would be better to look from all sides impartially. Later you will discover that this attitude has great advantages.
17 September 1971
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As long as you are for some and against others, you are necessarily outside of the Truth.
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