The Mother's Force
Letters on the Mother
“The Mother's Force”
- (Champaklal:) “Mother, I want to see your Force.
(Mother:) Oh, you want to see my Force? If I draw out my Force you will completely collapse; you will be flat. Do you want to experience it? You will not be able to go even up to the railway station.”[1]
- “You often speak of the Mother’s Force. What is it?
(Sri Aurobindo:) It is the Divine Force which works to remove the ignorance and change the nature into the divine nature.”[2]
(Sri Aurobindo:) “By the Power of her Origin and the legacy of the One, She must overcome all the laws established in manifestation and conquer the resistance of all that has been organised since centuries and millenniums and show that the Supreme is All-Powerfull over His own creation.
In all the world as it is now, death and dissolution reign. She wants to abolish their law in order to establish the Supreme Life and Consciousness.”[3]
(Shobha Mitra:) “I do not remember which year it was that Amrita made us do a Ball Drill on one of the Darshan Days. We were eight girls participating in the drill. On the day before the Darshan the Mother asked me –
Mother – So, are you participating in tomorrow's programme?
S – Yes, Mother.
Mother – What are you doing?
S – I am doing the Ball Drill, Mother.
Mother – Good.
S – Mother, in this drill there is a forward roll. Every time I try to do it, instead of doing a forward roll I land on my left. Everybody in the Playground laughs.
Mother – (Hearing this the Mother starts laughing and goes on for quite some time.) You cannot do a forward roll? (She starts laughing again)
S – Mother, tomorrow you will be sitting before us. There will be so many spectators. Mother, I must do it correctly. I must do it correctly. I pray to you, Mother, to help me.
The Mother keeps silent. She gives me flowers and blesses me.
The Darshan day came. The Mother sat in front of the map of India. The Ball Drill started. When the time for the forward roll came I felt as if some hand had touched my back, and made me roll. I finished the forward roll correctly and got up immediately. My eyes fell first on the Mother. I saw She was looking at me with a smile on Her face. Since then I have not had any difficult with doing forward rolls.”[4]
(Sri Aurobindo:) “In the ordinary condition of the body if you oblige the body to do too much work, it can do with the support of vital force. But as soon as the work is done, the vital force withdraws and then the body feels fatigue. If this is done too much and for too long a time, there may be a breakdown of health and strength under the overstrain. Rest is then needed for recovery.
If however the mind and the vital get the habit of opening to the Mother’s Force, they are then supported by the Force and may even be fully filled with it — the Force does the work and the body feels no strain or fatigue before or after.”[5]
(Dilip Kumar Roy:) “When I met the Mother for the first time in August 1928, I was struck by her sweet personality and felt a deep exhilaration which I could not account for. The joy left a cadence of music in my heart, though, of course, there could be no question of surrendering my will to hers. The first question I asked her was whether what Sri Aurobindo called the Yogic Force acting through her personality could achieve anything ‘tangible’. She gave me an amused smile.
“What do you mean by tangible?”
Mother smiled once more.
“I can try,” she said simply. “You are at the Hotel? When do you retire for the night?” “At nine.” “Meditate at that hour in your room – try to open yourself to me and I will concentrate on you from here. Maybe you will get something which cannot be explained away even by such impressive names scientific or otherwise.” ...
So, naturally, I sat down to meditation in a flawlessly confident mood. I did indeed expect to see so many things: lights, colours, some figures, with luck maybe even a radiant form – who knows?
Suddenly I found my body stiffening and I started perspiring profusely; then – to my complete discomfiture – my heart beat so fast that I got scared. What is all this? Suddenly I remembered and took the Mother's name. At once the palpitation ceased. But I was wet all over with perspiration, and the tension in my body increased till my muscles became so still that I felt a positive pain.
As soon as the palpitation ceased, my fear left me but not my astonishment. For palpably, some extraneous force was acting on my body – a force the like of which I had never experienced so vividly before! Also, obviously, it had nothing to do with auto-suggestion since I had never even imagined that an invisible Force could so convincingly twist the live, material muscles of a strong sceptic – healthy, wide-awake and normal to his fingertips!”[6]
“(As he is about to leave, Satprem lays his forehead on Mother's knees and receives a mass of force. He probably appears stunned by the ‘avalanche’, and Mother remarks:)
(Mother:) It comes like this (Mother bangs her fist down as if into Matter).
But it's rather interesting because it comes straight from above and when it reaches the earth atmosphere, it gathers there all the energies of the earth, and then it enters (same gesture). Now it has become like that. A rather strong golden light, which comes massively, then touches the earth atmosphere and ATTRACTS and gathers the vital energies of the earth, and then it goes like this (same gesture banging down). I see it – I see the thing – and it goes through my arms, my hands.... (With an ironic smile:) Do you feel something or not?
- Oh, yes, I feel the Force!
(Mother laughs at Satprem's tone) Good; then it's all right!
But it is very interesting. It's growing stronger and stronger ... day after day, month after month.
(the hour strikes)
Very well, so we won't bother about doctors. Au revoir, mon petit! ”[7]
- (Sehra, 15 January 1962:) “Mother, did you read my letter mentioning the predictions made by astrologers about February?
(Mother:) Yes. Many people have asked me about these predictions. The astrologers say that something bad will happen. Even Punditji says so. Every time I hear all those things I try to see what the truth is. But always there is a blank. I see nothing. There is neither a Yes nor a No. This may mean that nothing is going to happen. Or else it may be the Supreme's Will that I should know nothing and not interfere with anything. Usually I don't interfere with happenings in Nature.
- But, Mother, aren't you and the Supreme the same?
Yes, and when I go into a trance I see everything. Even in the present case I must have seen everything, but when I come back into the outer consciousness I sometimes forget and there is a blank.
- You mean you want to forget and so you don't remember.
You may put it like that if you wish. But when I am meant to interfere I clearly remember everything I see in my trance. For instance, I see the great threat of a world war, and I put all my force against it to prevent anything that may develop into a world war. Even lately I have done that.
- I am asking you about the astrologers' predictions because it is said that half of Bombay will be submerged in water. I feel very worried; my people are staying just opposite the beach in Bombay. Will the predictions come true?
Well, if anything bad threatens to happen, we'll see about it and prevent that also.”[8]
(Amal Kiran:) “I may give you another instance. It was in connection with a side-tooth of mine. You see, I had a bit of tooth-trouble once and I went to our oldest dentist. Our dentists here have a very important function to perform, as you must be aware: their job is to see that before we become supramental we don't become supra-dental! (laughter) The dentist examined my tooth and gave the verdict: “I find your tooth has got broken and will have to be extracted.” I said, “What doctor? So it again.” He repeated, “Yes, it will have to be extracted.” I exclaimed, “Wonderful! Never in my life have I had a tooth extracted. Now I will have this thrilling experience. Please, doctor, go ahead immediately.” He worked at it for half an hour and brought out piece after piece until some pieces just wouldn't come out. So he sent for his wife to assist him. She came and they applied jointly a small chisel and hammer and he successfully got all the pieces out, as a good dentist should. Then I went home. After some time severe pain started. I thought it was a natural consequence of a tooth-extraction and that I just had to grin and bear it. The whole day passed and still the pain persisted. I didn't know what to do. I kept fumbling in my mind for a way out. I suddenly recalled that a day earlier I had received from the Mother a letter of only four words in green ink to a question of mine. They were: “It is all right.” Somehow they got linked up with my present state. I asked myself, “Why is my state so bad? It should be all right. The Mother has spoken about it in advance.” I got the inspiration to put that paper on to my cheek, with the four words pressed against it where the gap was there inside the mouth. Believe me, within 3 minutes or less, the ache was completely gone. It returned only after 4 hours. Here was a little miracle. Evidently I had got in touch with the Mother's force and it had passed through those words to my sorry plight. The next day the dentist helped me out.”[9]
(Mother to Mona Sarkar:) “You are right. There is a much greater intensity of force emanating from my feet because this force has to pass through the thick crust of the earth, through a great resistance in order to reach and touch the inconscience. It is for this reason that the force passes directly. Whereas when I bless with my hand, I control the flow of this force and give to each one what he needs when I give my blessings. But Sri Aurobindo had a different way: like this, from far, he could send the force directly either to heal, to uplift or to bless, – I have seen so many cases, – without even his touching. Whereas me, I restrict a little and I give exactly according to the receptivity of the persons and as much as they can contain and assimilate. I give according to the capacity of the individual, not more, not less, and they are happy. But sometimes I am obliged to give with a lot of intensity and energy, when there is a call for help someone from far, at the other end of the world, – from the other extreme. When I hear a prayer, I send a force and a will which goes with a lot of intensity either to do what is necessary or to save the person. It is a vibration that emanates from me and in a fraction of a second it acts with a determinism even at the other end of the world. At that moment, it is voluntary, direct and accomplishes the will which I have put into that vibration. Really speaking, it is a very strong force which I send and which acts on the person – it is to save him even from death. But it is not often that I send a force o this intensity. People cannot understand the value of what I have done, of what has been accomplished. Anyway....”[10]
(Amal Kiran:) “I recollect the time when a philosopher friend of mine lay unconscious with an attack of meningitis. A telegram came from his sister saying that only a miracle could save his life and that the Mother should be informed. The Mother very gravely received the appeal. Evidently it was a significant moment of crisis and not an ordinary phase of illness. The next day she told me: “I have put the decisive force.” I asked what that would mean and whether it would mean a saving of my friend's life. She explained: “The decisive force should ensure that the soul's will would win. If the soul wants to stay in the body but somehow physical conditions tend to push it out, it shall not be pushed out. If, however, the soul wants to leave the body and somehow physical conditions are holding it back, they shall not prevail. The soul knows what is right and my sending the decisive force will give it victory.” ”[11]
- ↑ Champaklal Speaks, p.69
- ↑ The Mother with Letters on the Mother, p.193, “The Mother's Force”
- ↑ About Savitri, Vol. 2
- ↑ Remembering the Mother with Gratitude, p.39, “My Treasures”
- ↑ Letters on the Mother, p.257
- ↑ Dilip Kumar Roy, Sri Aurobindo came to me, p.211
- ↑ Agenda, 4 August 1965
- ↑ Amal Kiran, The Sun and the Rainbow, p.198
- ↑ Amal Kiran & Nirodbaran, Light and Laughter: Some Talks at Pondicherry, p.47
- ↑ The Supreme – Conversations with the Mother recollected by Mona Sarkar, p.69
- ↑ Amal Kiran, Our Light and Delight: Recollections of Life with the Mother, p.99
See also