"But
this is what happens at a given moment; one
begins to think that one is here not without
reason, without purpose. One realises suddenly
that one is here because there is something to be
done and this something is not anything egoistic.
This seems to me the most logical way of entering
upon the path - all of a sudden to realise, 'Since
I am here, it means that I have a mission to
fulfil. Since I have been endowed with a
consciousness, it is that I have something to do
with that consciousness - what is it?'
Generally,
it seems to me that this is the first question
one should put to oneself: 'Why am I here?'
I
have seen this in children, even in children of
five or six: 'Why am I here, why do I live?' And
then to search, with whatever consciousness is
available, with a very little bit of
consciousness: why am I here, for what reason?
This
seems to me the normal starting-point. "
*
"There
is a purpose in life - and it is the only true
and lasting one - the Divine. Turn to Him and the
emptiness will go."
*
"The
true purpose of life - To live for the Divine, or
to live for the Truth, or at least to live for
one's soul.
And
the true sincerity - To live for the Divine
without expecting any benefit from Him in return.
"
*
"Nobody
can say, 'There is no hope for me,' because the
Divine Grace is there."
-
The Mother
"We
all have a role to fulfil, a work to accomplish,
a place which we alone can occupy.
But
since this work is the expression, the outer
manifestation of the inmost depth of our being,
we can become conscious of its definitive form
only when we become conscious of this depth
within ourselves.
This
is what sometimes happens in cases of true
conversion.
The
moment we perceive the transfiguring light and
give ourselves to it without reserve, we can
suddenly and precisely become aware of what we
are made for, of the purpose of our existence on
earth.
But
this enlightenment is exceptional. It is brought
about within us by a whole series of efforts and
inner attitudes. And one of the essential
conditions if we want to achieve and maintain
within ourselves these attitudes, these soul-states,
is to devote part of our time each day to some
impersonal action; every day, we must do
something useful for others.
Until
we know the essential thing we are intended to do,
we must therefore find a temporary occupation
which will be the best possible manifestation of
our present capacities and our goodwill.
Then
we shall give ourselves to this occupation with
conscientiousness and perseverance, knowing that
it may well be only a stage and that with the
progress of our ideal and our energies, we shall
certainly one day be led to see more clearly the
work we must accomplish. To the extent that we
lose the habit of referring everything to
ourselves and learn more and more to give
ourselves more completely, with greater love, to
earth and men, we shall see our horizons widen
and our duties become more numerous and clear.
We
shall find that our action follows a general line
of progression determined by our own particular
temperament.
Indeed,
the successive occupations we shall hold before
we become conscious of the definitive form of our
action will always point in the same direction,
be of the same type and mode, which is the
spontaneous expression of our character, our
nature, our own characteristic vibration.
The
discovery of this tendency, this particular
orientation, should come about quite naturally;
it is a matter of taste and free choice, beyond
all outer selfish considerations.
People
are often blamed for choosing an action for
themselves which does not correspond to their
abilities. There is a slight confusion here.
Those
who freely set out to accomplish their own
favourite work cannot, in my opinion, be on the
wrong track; this work must surely be the
expression of their own particular tendency. But
their mistake lies in wanting to accomplish this
work all at once in its entirety, in its
integrality, in depth and above all on the
surface, forgetting that the very conception of
the work is imperfect as they are imperfect and
that to be wise, they should add to the knowledge
of what they wish to do the more immediate and
practical knowledge of what they are capable of
doing at the present moment.
By
taking both these factors into account, they can
employ themselves with a minimum waste of time
and energy.
But
few people act with so much insight and wisdom.
And it very often happens that one who is seeking
his way falls into one of these two possible
errors:
Either
he takes his desires for realities, that is, he
overestimates his present strength and capacity
and imagines that he is capable of immediately
assuming a place and a role which he can
honourably fulfil only after many years of
methodical and persevering effort.
Or
he underestimates his latent powers and
deliberately confines himself, in spite of his
deeper aspirations, to a task which is far
beneath his abilities and which will gradually
extinguish within him the light that could have
shone for others.
It
seems difficult at first to steer clear of these
pitfalls and find the balanced way, the middle
way.
But
we have a sure pointer to guide us.
Above
all, whatever we undertake should not be done for
the purpose of self-assertion. If we are attached
to fame and glory, to the esteem of our peers, we
are soon led to make concessions to them; and if
we seek any opportunity to admire ourselves, it
becomes easy to make ourselves out to be what we
are not, and nothing more obscures the ideal
within us.
We
should never tell ourselves, openly or indirectly,
'I want to be great, what vocation can I find for
myself in order to become great?'
On
the contrary, we should tell ourselves, 'There
must certainly be something I can do better than
anyone else, since each one of us is a special
mode of manifestation of the divine power which,
in its essence, is one in all. However humble and
modest it may be, this is precisely the thing to
which I should devote myself, and in order to
find it, I shall observe and analyse my tastes,
tendencies and preferences, and I shall do it
without pride or excessive humility, whatever
others may think I shall do it just as I breathe,
just as the flower smells sweet, quite simply,
quite naturally, because I cannot do otherwise.'
As
soon as we have abolished within us, even for a
moment, all egoistic desires, all personal and
selfish aims, we can surrender to this inner
spontaneity, this deep inspiration which will
enable us to commune with the living and
progressive forces of the universe.
The
conception of our work will inevitably grow more
perfect as we grow more perfect ourselves; and to
realise this growing perfection, no effort to
exceed ourselves should be neglected, but the
work we perform must become always more and more
joyful and spontaneous, like water welling from a
pure spring."
"So
long as a personal aspiration or desire, a
selfish will, get mingled in it, it always
creates a mixture and is not exactly an
expression of the divine Will. The only thing
which must count is the Divine, His Will, His
manifestation, His expression. One is here for
that, one is that, and nothing else. And so long
as there is a feeling of self, of the ego, the
person, which enters, well, this proves that one
is not yet what one ought to be, that's all. I
don't say that this can be done overnight but
still this indeed is the truth.
It
is just because even in this field, the spiritual
field, there are far too many people (I could say
even the majority of those who take to the
spiritual life and do yoga), far too many of
these who do it for personal reasons, all kinds
of personal reasons: some because they are
disgusted with life, others because they are
unhappy, others still because they want to know
more, others because they want to become
spiritually great, others because they want to
learn things which they may be able to teach
others; indeed there are a thousand personal
reasons for taking up yoga. But the simple fact
of giving oneself to the Divine so that the
Divine takes you and makes of you what He wills,
and this in all its purity and constancy, well,
there are not many who do that and yet this
indeed is the truth; and with this one goes
straight to the goal and never risks making
mistakes. But all the other motives are always
mixed, tainted with ego; and naturally they can
lead you here and there, very far from the goal
also.
But
that kind of feeling that you have only one
single reason for existence, one single goal, one
single motive, the entire, perfect, complete
consecration to the Divine to the point of not
being able to distinguish yourself from Him any
longer, to be Himself entirely, completely,
totally without any personal reaction intervening,
this is the ideal attitude; and besides, it is
the only one which makes it possible for you to
go forward in life and in the work, absolutely
protected from everything and protected from
yourself which is of all dangers the greatest for
you - there is no greater danger than the self (I
take 'self' in the sense of an egoistic self)."
-
The Mother
