Page 31 - All India Magazine Jan-2026

Restoring our Smile

Get rid of the sense of Self-importance
If one looks at oneself very sincerely, very straightfor-
wardly and very severely, one very quickly perceives that
very few things, very few movements of consciousness are
free from being mixed with desires. Even in what you take
for a higher movement, there is always... no, happily not al-
ways, but most often there is a desire mixed. The desire of
the sense of one’s importance, if only this, that kind of self-
satisfaction, the satisfaction of being someone superior.
This is of course much better than those who want to
become yogis in order to astound their neighbours and ex-
ercise authority over others, and so that others may be full
of admiration and of respect for them. How many things are
truly pure? Pure aspiration? You must have already attained
a very high level, that level I spoke of, on which one can look
at oneself with a smile, a slightly ironic smile, and have the
feeling that one was so small, so small, so small, so petty, so
insignificant and so foolish. After that things go better. But
for what a long time all the movements are always turned
back upon themselves! You start off in a sweep, as though
you were springing forward in the face of this universe, and
you turn back upon yourself, expecting a small result, a small
satisfaction, a very tiny satisfaction, even if it be just your
own self-appreciation: “Oh, what a fine aspiration I had!”
CWM 6: 337 – 338

The Smile that invites the Divine
You don’t need to have a strong will—you have only to
use mine.

All India Magazine, January 2026 31