Page 20 - All India Magazine Nov-2024

with difficulty. They will remain long, they will come back, they
will trouble you, vex you, produce in you a great disgust, all that,
but if you resist well ... then little by little, little by little, that thins
out, thins out and you begin to learn the second attitude: "Now I
want my consciousness to be above those things. There will still
be many battles but if my consciousness stands above that, little
by little there will come a time when this will return no longer."
And then there is a time when you feel that you are absolutely
free: you do not even perceive it, and then that is all. It may take
a long time, it may come soon: that depends on the strength of
character, on the sincerity of the aspiration. But even for people
who have just a little sincerity, if they subject themselves to this
process, they succeed. It takes time. They succeed in the first
item: in not expressing. All forces upon earth tend towards self-
expression. These forces come with the object of manifesting
themselves and if you place a barrier and refuse to express them,
they may try to beat against the barrier for a time, but in the end,
they will tire themselves out and not being manifested, they will
withdraw and leave you quiet.”
CWM 5: 210–212

Offering to Sri Aurobindo
Q: To be able to offer my mind to Sri Aurobindo in all sincerity, is it
not very necessary to develop a great power of concentration? Will
you tell me by what method I could cultivate this precious faculty?

Fix a time when you can be quiet every day.
Take one of Sri Aurobindo’s books. Read a sentence or two.
Then remain silent and concentrated to understand the deeper
meaning. Try to concentrate deeply enough to obtain mental si-
lence and begin again daily until you obtain a result.
Naturally you should not fall asleep.
CWM 12: 205 The Mother

20 All India Magazine, November 2024