Page 31 - All India Magazine Jan-2025

of making an effort to rise one step higher in their consciousness,
come down one step lower; they come down even lower than they
were before and do stupid things, they make themselves vulgar
in the hope of amusing themselves. That is why men intoxicate
themselves, spoil their health, deaden their brains. If they had
risen instead of falling, they would have made use of this oppor-
tunity to progress.
In fact, the same thing holds true in all circumstances, when
life gives you a severe blow, one of those blows which men call
a misfortune. The first thing they try to do is to forget, as if they
did not forget too soon! And in order to forget, they do all kinds
of things. When something is very painful, they try to distract
themselves — what they call distracting themselves, that is, do-
ing stupid things, lowering their consciousness instead of rais-
ing it. If something extremely painful happens to you, never try
to deaden yourself; you must not forget, you must not sink into
unconsciousness. Go right to the heart of the pain and there you
will find the light, the truth, the strength and the joy which are
hidden behind this pain. But for that you must be firm and refuse
to let yourself slide.
In this way every event in life, great or small, can be an oppor-
tunity for progress. Even the most insignificant details can lead to
revelations if you know how to profit from them. Whenever you
are engaged in something which does not demand the whole of
your attention, use it as an opportunity to develop your faculty of
observation and you will see that you will make interesting discov-
eries. To help you to understand what I mean, I shall give you two
examples. They are two brief moments in life which are insignifi-
cant in themselves, but still leave a deep and lasting impression.
*
Life full of wonder
The first example takes place in Paris. You have to go out into
this immense city; here all is noise, apparent confusion, bewilder-

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