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Thematic Index of the Collected Works of the Mother
© Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust

how do we change?

  4.3.    how do we change? what is it that effects change? (17)
05, p. 208-09 Because inspirations for action can come from many sources (people can even become inspired to commit murder), one of the earliest things you are taught to do in Yoga is to open the doors to higher things (than what is in your ordinary consciousness) by processes of meditation, concentration or aspiration. A discussion follows of how people are usually open to the forces and vibrations of the physical, vital and mental planes and progress on those planes as they grow older.
06, p. 144-46 Here is an explanation of human sorrow as an egoistic turning on oneself and a description of how to deepen one’s sorrow, go right to its heart, and open the door to a state of divine compassion which is a psychic peace and sweetness and understanding of things that is not egoistic and not intellectual. (also under: 2.4)
07, p. 001-2 How can we create the attunement of the nature with the working of the Divine Light and Power? You do it by trying. First you must become aware (conscious) of the points where this harmony does not exist, feel the contradiction between the inner consciousness and certain outer movements. If one is not conscious of something higher within, then many preparatory states of awareness are needed before being ready for this harmonization. But when one is ready then one must gather his will and aspiration and begin with the easiest thing, the disharmony which seems most evident
07, p. 102 A brief introduction to the idea of Yoga-Shakti and how it awakens and what it does. “In fact, the Yoga-Shakti is the power to do yoga.” It awakens the minute one takes the resolution to do yoga and, in fact, it is its awakening which gives the aspiration.
07, p. 241-43 These pages are about how imagination can help one realise desires, ideals and also spiritual aspirations—especially if one adds to imagination the ardour of a faith and trust in the divine Grace and that kind of self-giving to the Grace which makes you expect everything from it. One must have a great purity and intensity in one’s self-giving and absolute trust in the wisdom of the Grace.
07, p. 354-55 The very first movement is to not be so interested in outward things (what you do, the people you see, eating, talking, working, being concerned with whether one is keeping well etc. etc.), to let all that pass into the background, and to let the one important thing, the discovery of the very purpose and existence of life come to the front of one’s consciousness—to be interested more in the cause and the goal than in the manifestation—a withdrawal from this total identification with outward and apparent things and a kind of inward concentration on the Truth one wants to discover. This is the first movement.
08, p. 022-23 What is this work and how is it accomplished? Mother tells about the positive and negative sides of the work of change and clearly defines them. Both must be practiced at the same time. Excellent 1_ page summary of the process of change which concludes with the need for vigilance, perseverance, endurance and cheerfulness.
11, p. 210-13 This is an excellent description. Mother tells how, in order to change them, wrong movements must not be suppressed and driven underground where they spring up (or are purged onto one’s children) but must be projected into the light. She describes how to do this. The movements resist the light but this resistance is diminished in the proportion as we can diminish in us our sense of disapprobation…replace it with a higher understanding. Then we can succeed. (also under: 4.3.2, 5.4)
12, p. 003-8 This is the famous “Science of Living” article with its description of how to work for one’s perfection. The steps are outlined. The goal is truth manifesting through all the parts of ourselves: love from the psychic; knowledge from the mind; power and strength from the vital; beauty and harmony expressed in the body. (also under: 4.3.2, 6.2)
12, p. 430-32 A very brief introduction to the topic which emphasises the importance of widening and illumining the consciousness and how to do it by finding and uniting with the psychic and of experiencing what the fourth dimension is.
14, p. 168 Mother tells a sadhak the 4 conditions for change: “to be convinced that you can change, to will to change without accepting the excuses of the lower nature, to persist in the will inspite of every fall, to have an unshakable faith in the help you receive.”
15, p. 239-41 Several short statements here on the subject of change. One example: “It is only when people truly want their consciousness to be changed that their actions also can be changed.”
15, p. 323b “One becomes aware of the movements of one’s being by referring more and more to the psychic being.” “Finding one’s psychic being implies a kind of conviction, a faith in the existence of this psychic being. One must become aware of it and then allow it to take up the direction of life and action; one must refer to it and make it one’s guide.” (also under: 4.1.2.a, 4.3.1, 4.7.1)
16, p. 069 Attitude to take to the resistance each discovers in himself. In the face of great difficulties (which everyone has) such as discouragement, Mother assures, “You have only to remain confident and cheerful.” (also under: 4.2.3.d, 4.6.a)
16, p. 120 “All that leads you away from me [Mother] is bad. All that brings you closer to me and gives you the perception and joy of my presence is good. You should judge things in the light of this rule. You will see that it will help you to protect yourself from many mistakes.”
16, p. 313 About observation, discernment, acceptance of truth and rejection of falsehood and how to recognise each. Mother answers briefly what we must do to prepare and receive in ourselves the Truth. She calls her advice here “A hint about how to take the first steps on the path”. She describes a programme of self-observation to distinguish the origin of one’s movements in order to accept those that tend towards harmony and order and consciousness and to reject those that come from the old inertia and falsehood. (also under: 4.3.2)
16, p. 396 To make a complete self-offering an obstinate will and great patience are needed but once the resolution is made the divine is there to support and give a help that is felt in the heart. (also under: 4.3.2.e)
  4.3.1    the role of consciousness in effecting change in one’s nature (39)
03, p. 123 To get out of the ordinary life with its round of various desires, we must become indifferent to them. To devise methods of abstinence makes one often also preoccupied with desires. So the best way to overcome desires is to be in contact with the psychic being.
05, p. 153 Two exercises for widening the consciousness: lie down and look at the night sky and identify with the vastness of the sky and stars. See the earth as a speck in the universe. Impurities fall off for a time in the wideness. The other exercise is to see yourself as a tiny ant in relation to a human being who is striding amongst his anthills and sometimes stepping on them. Mother suggests trying to compare these two methods.
05, p. 233-34 By living shut up in the ego consciousness with its sense of personal limitation humans always want to take, to replenish a perceived hole made by giving or spending. Because one fears losing one wants to accumulate, accumulate and expects things in return for what one gives. If one widens the consciousness, spreads out in all things one no longer has anything to lose for one would have everything. Only one doesn’t know this and until one knows it one can’t do it. One can observe it easily in oneself e.g. you give a good thought—you expect recognition, you give some affection—you expect it from others. (also under: 2.1.2.a, 4.3.2.c)
05, p. 260 “The force that comes down into one who is doing Yoga and helps him in his transformation, acts along many different lines and its results vary according to the nature that receives it and the work to be done. If he is open and receptive in his mind, the mind, touched by the power of Yoga, begins to change and progress swiftly.” Followed in the same way by comments on the working in the vital and the physical and also how their varying receptivities can produce disharmonies in the nature if they don't also progress.
05, p. 270 “Widen your consciousness and your memory will grow. Consciousness is a much higher memory than the mechanical brain memory.” By developing the consciousness you can recreate the state of consciousness you were in at a given moment and have exactly the same experience. “That is the only true memory.” (also under: 4.5.c)
05, p. 313-14, 315-20 This is a discussion of the several ways to cure fears (especially the fear of death) The methods include (1) rising to a state of consciousness, mental-intellectual, where one sees death as natural and unable to come until the time for it has come in which case it is acceptable; (2) detachment from the body consciousness; (3) entering the psychic consciousness; (4) The mighty yogi warrior can fight death; (5) The mystic can think of the Divine and snuggle in his arms or at his feet, leaving the responsibility to Him, surrendering to the Divine Will.
06, p. 008-9 This is about the power of observation itself, ie. in which parts of the being and how it develops and how it must not be confused with the capacity of discernment. (also under: 4.3.2.c)
06, p. 136-37 You must begin to get out of the ego consciousness and be in a certain state of inexistence so that you perceive things from a little higher up. Then you must become absolutely like a mirror and in a state of total receptivity and you will begin to see that there are many things you are not aware of, but which are there, and which will start becoming active in you. (also under: 2.1.2.a)
06, p. 322-24 This is about the role of Grace and the need for approaching it in true humility and acknowledging its action with gratitude rather than taking credit for its action as your own. Usually one must find oneself in a circumstance or facing a problem to be solved or a difficulty, disturbance or unwanted impulse and realise that neither the mind nor the will nor the feelings know what to do. The state of being lost and completely powerless can awaken humility and an aspiration to that which can do what one cannot do. This creates an opening for the Grace to act. That is the first condition. (also under: 4.3.2)
06, p. 344-46 Widening the consciousness: If you can make your consciousness vast you can sense the utter ridiculousness of attaching importance to what happens to you. All unpleasantness, even a deep pain can be swept away. Methods are given for how to widen the consciousness such as identifying with something vast like the sky or ocean or contemplating the eternity of time and visualising the current moment and circumstance as a tiny second in the vast unrolling of the universe. (also under: 4.3.2.d)
06, p. 356-57 “The true condition of progress is to create one’s own spiritual atmosphere to breathe and live in.” Mother tells how to do this: by inner discipline i.e. controlling your thoughts and actions, turning them exclusively towards the sadhana, abolishing desires and all useless, external, ordinary activities, separating yourself from ordinary things—e.g reading only what helps you on the path..
07, p. 034-36 This is an excellent description of the correct attitude to take towards experiences (one can never have exactly the same experience twice because one is never the same person twice. Clinging to an experience prevents receptivity to having a new or deeper or clearer experience). Mother also explains how each experience of illumination is an ascent to a new level where you must then work horizontally to assimilate it, draw from it all its inner psychological consequences and utilize even in action what was received—this prepares you at each new horizontal stage to become ready for another step. (also under: 2.2.3)
07, p. 143-44 The subconscient is everywhere—“everything seems steeped in the subconscient” Because it is half conscious—not conscious and not unconscious—things slide down into it and one doesn’t know that they are there, and from there they act and they remain there. Example is given of bad habits of the body—i.e. upsetting its balance and falling ill. The method of cure is to change the subconscient into the conscient by changing each unwanted thing as it arises from the subconscient and more directly by entering the subconscient in one’s full consciousness and working there—but that is difficult. (also under: 2.1.5)
07, p. 396-98 In answer to the question: How can one become indifferent to criticism? Mother gives several visualizations for widening the consciousness so that a particular event seems quite insignificant in the immensity of space and time. The Chinese Wu Wei method is one of the ones recommended and explained—i.e. to lie down on events as if you were floating on your back in a great sea, imagining the immensity of the ocean. (also under: 4.3.2.d)
08, p. 329-31 Mother talks about what is meant by calm and quietude and about their power. True quietude is always a sign of force. Calmness belongs to the strong. Agitation and restlessness are signs of weakness.
08, p. 383-87 Mother comments on a passage from Sri Aurobindo in Thoughts and Glimpses: “What I cannot do now is the sign of what I shall do hereafter. The sense of impossibility is the beginning of all possibilities…” Only when you try to do something can it seem impossible for you to do it. If you hadn’t tried it would not have seemed impossible. And you tried in the first place because it was somewhere in your consciousness—and the moment it is in your consciousness it is something you will realise. That alone which is not in your consciousness you cannot realize. And your consciousness can grow.
09, p. 262-63 “It is only when one is fully conscious of the process, when one knows how life works, the movement of life…that one can begin to have control”. Mother briefly talks about the very small beginning of the emergence from the primary state of unconsciousness.
09, p. 373 “I believe more in the power of the atmosphere and of example than of a rigorous teaching. I count more on something awakening in the being through contagion rather than by a methodical, disciplined effort.”
09, p. 423-24 From the point of view of individual development…to know how to remain inwardly silent before what one does not understand is one of the things that would help most in the progress. Mother elaborates and gives a method of what to do in the face of a problem to solve. Instead of thinking of all the possibilities and consequences, remain silent with an aspiration for goodwill and, according to your nature, with ardour or peace, with intensity or widening, or with all these, implore the Light and wait for it to come and give the answer. (also under: 4.3.2, 4.5.c)
10, p. 071-74 Mother describes a kind of hierarchy of collaboration in helping to cure the evil and ugliness that is everywhere. She tells of a negative way, a positive way and the truest collaboration.
10, p. 205-06 “All things seem hard to man that are above his attained level and they are hard to his unaided effort; but they become at once easy and simple when God in man takes up the contract.” Mother comments on this aphorism which she says is perfect and magnificent—it says everything.
12, p. 136 Mother briefly tells how to make the mind capable of receiving and expressing intuition. She is answering the question, “How to get rid of mental inertia?” “The cure is not in trying to wake up the mind but in turning it, immobile and silent, upwarad towards the region of intuitive light, in a steady and quiet aspiration, and to wait in silence for the light to come down and flood your brain which will, little by little, wake up to this influence and become capable of receiving and expressing the intuition.” (also under: 4.5.c)
15, p. 005-6 Excellent short answer on how change occurs: “The universe is a finite whole, but its content is infinite; the changes which occur in this infinity result from the action of Essence on substance, from the penetration, the permeation of quantity by quality, which brings about a constant and progressive organization and reorganization of the content of the universe.”
15, p. 323b “One becomes aware of the movements of one’s being by referring more and more to the psychic being.” “Finding one’s psychic being implies a kind of conviction, a faith in the existence of this psychic being. One must become aware of it and then allow it to take up the direction of life and action; one must refer to it and make it one’s guide.” (also under: 4.1.2.a, 4.3., 4.7.1)
15, p. 337-38, 340 “The more complete your faith, sincerity and surrender, the more will grace and protection be with you…a little of it even will carry you through all difficulties, obstacles and dangers…”
15, p. 419-23 An excellent very brief summary of the present difficult condition of the world and individuals and the remedy through surrender. Mother shows how surrender, presence of the Grace, liberation from attachments all fit together. She further tells how to respond when one feels that one is suffering.
16, p. 122 “Only spiritual force has the power to impose peace on the vital, for if peace is not imposed on it by a power greater than its own, the vital will never accept it. So you must open yourself to the spiritual force and allow it to work in you….” (also under: 4.5.b)
16, p. 175 “It is in your soul that the calmness can be found and it is by contagion that it spreads through your being. It is not steady because the sovereignty of your soul is not yet definitively established over all the being.” (also under: 3.3.4.a)
16, p. 185b Mother assures: “All my power is with you to help you; open yourself with a calm confidence, have faith in the Divine Grace, and you will overcome all your difficulties.” (also under: 4.3.2.a)
16, p. 252c “The force and light received by the more developed parts spread gradually into the rest of the being by a process of assimilation….”
16, p. 284b “One is aware of one’s difficulties only insofar as one can change them and at the moment when one can make the change.” (also under: 4.2.2)
16, p. 307 An example of what it means to effect change by means of consciousness: How to get rid of the black cloud of jealousy? “By widening one’s consciousness and making it universal.” A more difficult way is “by realising the supreme Unity”. (also under: 4.2.2)
16, p. 360-61 On increasing receptivity: “The difficulty usually comes from a lack of unification of the being. Certain parts are recalcitrant and refuse to receive. They have to be educated little by little, just as one educates a child—and little by little the situation will improve.” (also under: 4.6.b)
16, p. 362-63, 396, 410, 412 Brief descriptions of the process of unification around the psychic being, why to do it and how. (also under: 4.7.1)
16, p. 378a “…one should not try to destroy or to eliminate. One should concentrate all one’s effort on building up and strengthening the true consciousness, which will automatically do the work of unifying the being. In this way, everything that has to be transformed will be transformed quite naturally, without clash or damage.”
16, p. 399a Widening the consciousness. Mother tells how deeply feeling the beauty of Nature and communing with her can help in widening the consciousness.
17, p. 007 How can one change the obscure vital into a luminous vital? “By the surrender of the vital, its opening to the light, and the growth of consciousness.” (also under: 4.3.2.g, 4.5.b)
17, p. 043 Mother tells what to do when an unconverted part of the nature rises to the surface and becomes active. One notices that the consciousness is turned outwards and there is a diminishing of aspiration. This is a good example of the role of consciousness which first recognises what has happened and learns to patiently call for light and knowledge of a higher consciousness until the part is converted. Specifically the sure way is to ask Mother and Sri Aurobindo to enlighten and convert the obscure part. (also under: 4.5)
17, p. 085 “It is impossible to overcome a difficulty if the consciousness gets lowered. On the contrary, in order to overcome difficulties, the consciousness must strive to rise above the ordinary level.” (also under: 4.2.2)
  4.3.2    basic methods in the context of yoga (54)
02, p. 076 We must consecrate ourselves to the highest idea; it must become a living entity.
03, p. 001-2 How to prepare oneself? Become conscious through constant self-observation, followed by rejection.
03, p. 143 “Say to yourself, ‘my difficulty shows me clearly what I have ultimately to represent. To reach the absolute negation of it, the quality at the other pole—this is my mission.’...And remember: the Grace of the Divine is generally proportioned to your difficulties.” (also under: 4.1.2.b)
04, p. 001-2 “To choose without preference and execute without desire is the great difficulty at the very root of the development of true consciousness and self-control.....If you observe yourself attentively, you will see that before acting you need an inner impetus, something which pushes you. In the ordinary man this impetus is generally desire. This desire ought to be replaced by a clear, precise, constant vision of the Truth.” (also under: 2.3., 2.3.a)
05, p. 313, 315-20 A discussion of the several ways to cure fears (especially the fear of death) The methods include (1) rising to a state of consciousness, mental-intellectual, where one sees death as natural and unable to come until the time for it has come in which case it is acceptable, (2) detachment from the body consciousness, (3) entering the psychic consciousness. (4) The mighty yogi warrior can fight death. (5) The mystic can think of the Divine and snuggle in his arms or at his feet, leaving the responsibility to Him, surrendering to the Divine Will.
06, p. 116-18 Good example of how several methods combine in order for one to make a progress: through self-observation one notices that a part of the nature is not open. Then one turns to a part that is open so that it aspires that the resistant part open. To be able to aspire sincerity and humility are required because the closed part is quite self-satisfied. which makes it stiff and unreceptive. If, by an effort of will you manage to make it admit that it is wrong and should be otherwise it may in the beginning hurt you very much but if you hold on firmly with courage and determination until it has fully admitted its error it is immediately open and a flood of light enters. Then you are very happy and wonder why you foolishly resisted for so long.
06, p. 137-38 “To get out of the ego you must will it.” The surest means is to give oneself to the Divine; not to try to draw the Divine to you which shuts you up in the ego. Give yourself without holding back anything, simply for the joy of giving. You cannot succeed in this mentally—a flame of aspiration is needed.
06, p. 262-64 How to deal with the shadow in oneself: discovery first, through observation, next by putting the bright and dark parts face to face in the light if one is able to do so. Or by a steady rejection comes detachment and offering of it to the light. But first of all one must be clear and sincere enough to see the conflicts within oneself. Examples are given. Basically it is a work of inner psychology because once you become conscious of it you cut the links which attach it to your consciousness.
06, p. 289 If one has made a mistake and done something serious and can call in the power of the truth-consciousness and let it act, it is an occasion for tremendous progress. “Which means that one should never feel discouraged; or even if one has made mistakes many a time, one must keep the will not to make them any longer, and be sure that one day or another one will triumph over the difficulty if one persists in one’s will.” (also under: 4.3.2.e, 4.6.)
06, p. 322-24 This is about the role of Grace and the need for approaching it in true humility and acknowledging its action with gratitude rather than taking credit for its action as your own. Usually one must find oneself in a circumstance or facing a problem to be solved or a difficulty, disturbance or unwanted impulse and realise that neither the mind nor the will nor the feelings know what to do. The state of being lost and completely powerless can awaken humility and an aspiration to that which can do what one cannot do. This creates an opening for the Grace to act. That is the first condition. (also under: 4.3.1)
06, p. 388-89 “In this Yoga all depends on whether one can open to the influence or not. If there is a sincerity in the aspiration and a patient will to arrive at the higher consciousness in spite of all obstacles, then the opening in one form or another is sure to come.”—Sri Aurobindo. Mother comments that there are many parts of the being and that the nature of the opening is different in nature for each part. She describes the physical opening.
07, p. 205-06 Mother tells about the negative and positive aspects of the sadhana. The negative part is to reject false movements and reactions from the consciousness; the positive part is to build up the qualities that one wishes to develop. Examples are given of how these two aspects work together—e.g. refusing to express movements of ignorant, arrogant and obscure revolt on the one hand and on the other hand to build up surrender, understanding, consecration and the sense of collaborating with the divine forces.
07, p. 343-44 These are inspiring words that encourage one’s faith. Sri Aurobindo said: “He who chooses the Infinite has been chosen by the Infinite.” Mother comments how this is absolutely true.If you have felt even once inside yourself that this is the truth for me, it is because you are predestined. Remembering that can instill in you an indomitable courage to face all difficulties and a patience that stands all trials because you are absolutely sure to succeed. (also under: 4.3.2.a)
08, p. 094 How can we find the Divine within ourselves? First you must begin to seek him and that must be the most important thing in life. The will must be constant. The aspiration constant, the preoccupation constant, and it must be the only thing you truly want. Then you will find Him. It must not be a pastime. It must be the exclusive preoccupation of one’s being, the very reason of one’s existence. Otherwise it will take lifetimes.
08, p. 144-46 The supramental is now the light in the inner room. To see it one must enter the room. You must find the key. You sit down in front of a door and concentrate until you find the key or word or power to open it. If one doesn’t try, it doesn’t open by itself. You must sit there obstinately until you have found the means. You think of nothing else. Only the door. (also under: 4.3.2.i)
08, p. 220-21 Correct attitude in the face of difficulties and some basic advice from the Mother. If one feels that one’s difficulties have increased it is not the fault of the Supermind which gives you a greater light, a mirror in which you can see yourself (the unregenerate human nature) better than you did before. Also the Force at work is stronger, naturally what resists, resists as strongly. The cure is to be less egoistic and concentrated on yourself, not to be hypnotized by your little difficulties, inconveniences, small discomforts, your “big” defects but try to see the other side, how much more powerful the Force, active the Grace and tangible the Help, then you have a wider vision and view of the problem. “Don’t think so much about yourself…this perhaps is the problem which interests you most, but it is certainly not the most interesting!”
08, p. 305-06 A brief discussion about receptivity—why one is sometimes open and receptive and sometimes shut up and does not feel or receive force and joy. (also under: 4.6.b)
08, p. 323-26 A discussion about the conditions to be fulfilled for the transformation of consciousness (a _ page passage from Synthesis of Yoga) and how each one must follow his own path—action, knowledge, love. Mother repeats the importance for the path of action to attain complete detachment from fruit of action. The main thing is to let the Grace act as it is no longer possible to make general rules.
08, p. 402-05 Mother answers the question: how to change one’s consciousness?
09, p. 021, 23 To learn of pure delight one must, through an attentive observation, grow aware that desires and the satisfaction of desires give only an fugitive and unsatisfactory pleasure and that there is an infinitely greater delight in eliminating and conquering a desire. With a continuous discipline of rejection the desires begin to keep their distance and one is freer to go more deeply within and open oneself in aspiration. If this is done with sincere self-giving one will feel that wonderful sweet warmth in the heart which is the herald of Delight.
09, p. 066-71 Here Mother tells about the importance of practice of the knowledge-teachings one receives. She illustrates with an ancient tale about a Guru and an initiate. (Yusef opened a box though his Master had specifically instructed him not to) Persistent efforts and patience and endurance are necessary to master the least weakness or pettiness in one’s nature. (also under: 4.5, 4.6.a)
09, p. 241-42 Mother emphasises that in one’s desire for progress and aspiration for realisation it is very important not to try to pull the forces towards one. She recommends self-giving, disinterested self-opening, increased receptivity. One should never try to take or pull because that is dangerous, putting one on the brink of the abyss.
09, p. 316-18 When we make an effort to do better but don’t see any progress, we feel discouraged. What is the best thing to do? Mother answers. “As with everything in yoga… the joy of effort, the aspiration for progress must be enough in themselves quite independent of the result”—otherwise one is bargaining which takes away the sincerity of the effort. Besides, we are incapable of judging our progress and results often come after what seems to be a long period of stagnation.
09, p. 406-07 Mother tells that true spiritual understanding comes only by experience and that each individual can receive his own mental formulation of the truth by means of an intense aspiration for it, sincerity of the inner opening, and the response of the Grace. “When one is truly and exclusively turned to the spiritual Truth…then one single moment of intense, absolute, total concentration is enough to receive the answer.”
09, p. 423-24 From the point of view of individual development…to know how to remain inwardly silent before what one does not understand is one of the things that would help most in the progress. Mother elaborates and gives a method of what to do in the face of a problem to solve. Instead of thinking of all the possibilities and consequences, remain silent with an aspiration for goodwill and, according to your nature, with ardour or peace, with intensity or widening, or with all these, implore the Light and wait for it to come and give the answer. (also under: 4.3.1, 4.5.c)
10, p. 014,a “Open, aspire, and… wait. It will surely come, the Grace is there. It asks only to be able to work for everyone.”
10, p. 023-26 Mother tells why and how to search for the soul to unite with it and allow it to govern one’s life. She tells how the noise of the mind and the vital cover the soul’s quiet voice and how to learn to discern and discriminate. She tells that the main thing is to want to do it with persistence and perseverance. Only the degree of concentration can shorten the way. (also under: 2.2.1, 3.3.4.a)
10, p. 034-35 Mother tells how it is that people continue to err even after they have seen what must be changed. To give the excuse that, “Oh human nature is like this. Oh we are in the inconscience…the ignorance — is laziness and weakness and behind the laziness and weakness there is a huge bad will.” ... “To put into practice the little you know is the best way to learn more; it is the most powerful means of advancing on the way—a little bit of really sincere practice.” Mother tells why people complain about their disabilities and continue to repeat mistakes rather than building up the will and vigilance and conquering them. (also under: 4.2.2)
10, p. 120-23 About the role of adverse forces and a way of working to transform them. First the aphorism: “Examine thyself without pity, then thou wilt be more charitable and pitiful to others.” Then Mother says: “Do not try to appear virtuous. See how much you are united…with everything that is anti-divine. Take your share of the burden… and offer it…give it all with total love.” To the extent one can do this things will change. (also under: 4.2.3)
11, p. 001, 3 Mother tells that now the difficulties are as though exaggerated and also the power of consciousness is greater. “Above all… one must have endurance, and a faith nothing can shake, even an apparently complete negation, even if you suffer, even if you are miserable (I mean to say in the body)…to endure. That is it.” (also under: 4.6.a)
11, p. 184-88 Mother tells the best means. She explains the purpose of the confusion we see all around and the best way to respond. This is one of the best descriptions of how to practise the yoga, what is required.
11, p. 210-13 This is an excellent description. Mother tells how, in order to change them, wrong movements must not be suppressed and driven underground where they spring up (or are purged onto one’s children) but must be projected into the light. She describes how to do this. The movements resist the light but this resistance is diminished in the proportion as we can diminish in us our sense of disapprobation…replace it with a higher understanding. Then we can succeed. (also under: 4.3., 5.4)
11, p. 262 “We see nothing as it is.” There is only one safety: to cling to the Divine…not to what one thinks or feels to be the Divine… but to as sincere an aspiration as possible and cling to that. See p. 261 for the context of Mother’s statement of the problem and the remedy.
12, p. 003-8 This is the famous “Science of Living” article with its description of how to work for one’s perfection. The steps are outlined. The goal is truth manifesting through all the parts of ourselves: love from the psychic; knowledge from the mind; power and strength from the vital; beauty and harmony expressed in the body. (also under: 4.3., 6.2)
12, p. 304 Mother tells the importance of “observing the initiating impulses of one’s movements and actions and discriminating between those that come from the Truth and those that come from the falsehood, in order to obey the first and to refuse or reject the others.” She gives some guidance on how to discriminate.
14, p. 041 Mother tells here the two conditions for opening the closed windows of the human consciousness so the Infinite can freely enter and transform: ardent aspiration and progressive dissolution of the ego and then the three indispensable things to begin with: sincerity…self-surrender…patient work on oneself with a steady conquering of unshakable peace and equanimity. (also under: 4.3.2.f)
14, p. 103-112 Many short statements full of Mother’s force which show the meaning, importance and power of the movements of devotion, worship, offering, consecration, self giving and service to the Divine.
14, p. 140-50 Calm, Quiet, Peace, Silence. Short passages on the importance and power of these qualities and guidance on developing them. (also under: 4.6.)
14, p. 151-55 Openness and Receptivity, short passages on their importance and their meaning. (also under: 4.6.b)
14, p. 156-61 Purity, Simplicity, Humility, Modesty. Short passages on their importance and their meaning. (also under: 4.6.)
14, p. 388 3 very brief passages: on the importance of sincerity and aspiration and the attitude of detachment when dealing with the subconscient to purify and transform it.
15, p. 094-95 Here are many short reminders of methods that help: some examples: “The constant remembrance of the Divine is indispensable for transformation.” “Be simply sincere in your obedience to the Divine—this will take you far on the way to transformation.” Be quiet and gather strength and force not only to do work but also to achieve the transformation.” “Silence all outside noise, aspire for the Divine’s help; open integrally to it when it comes and surrender to its action, and it will effectively bring about your transformation.”
15, p. 095 “Transformation demands a total and integral consecration. But isn’t this the aspiration of all sincere sadhaks?” Then Mother defines the words total and integral. (also under: 4.7.1)
15, p. 116 “1) Be receptive and 2) Be plastic” “The first indispensable condition to prepare ourselves to receive the new consciousness is a true and spontaneous humility which makes us feel deeply that we know nothing and are nothing in face of the marvelous things we have to acquire.”
15, p. 204a Two short paragraphs given as the darshan message of 1961 and entitled “Our Path” give the requirements for following it safely.
16, p. 146 “You find it difficult to open because you have not yet made the resolution to allow my will, and not your own, to govern your life. As soon as you have understood the need for this, everything will become easier—and you will at last be able to acquire the peace you need so much.”
16, p. 150 Mother gives a cure for restlessness: “Each time that you feel restless you ought to repeat, speaking inside yourself without exterior sound and thinking of me at the same time: ‘Peace, peace, O my heart!’ Do it steadily and you will be pleased with the result.” (also under: 4.5.b)
16, p. 217 “The best way to get it [the higher Consciousness which is ‘a state of pure love’ and ‘pure openness to divine knowledge’] is to refuse all mental agitation when it comes, also all vital desires and turmoils, and to keep the mind and heart turned as constantly as possible towards the Divine. The love for the Divine is the strongest force for doing this.” (also under: 1.3.3)
16, p. 252a “To receive the divine grace, not only must one have a great aspiration, but also a sincere humility and an absolute trust.”
16, p. 271 “All the psychological qualities can be cultivated as the muscles are—by regular, daily exercise. Above all, turn towards the Divine Force in a sincere aspiration and implore It to deliver you from your limitations. If you are sincere in your will to progress, you are sure to advance.” (also under: 4.6.)
16, p. 313 About observation, discernment, acceptance of truth and rejection of falsehood and how to recognise each. Mother answers briefly what we must do to prepare and receive in ourselves the Truth. She calls her advice here “A hint about how to take the first steps on the path”. She describes a programme of self-observation to distinguish the origin of one’s movements in order to accept those that tend towards harmony and order and consciousness and to reject those that come from the old inertia and falsehood. (also under: 4.3.)
16, p. 317c A sadhak wanted a daily programme as a method to progress towards Sri Aurobindo’s yoga. As initial help to set one on the path of spiritual development Mother gave 2 exercises of self-offering of all one thinks, all one is, all that one does to the Divine: in the morning one offers the day to the Divine. Before sleeping one reviews the day to see where there were lapses and aspires or prays that they do not recur. (also under: 6.3.e)
16, p. 378 Mother tells the two actions that can hasten the day when the whole being is consecrated and what is needed in order to practise these actions.
16, p. 423a Mother gives the two conditions needed to open the closed windows of the human consciousness so the Infinite can enter to fully transform us: (1) ardent aspiration (2) progressive abolition of the ego. “The divine help is assured to those who set to work sincerely.”
  4.3.2.i    meditation and concentration (32)
03, p. 098-99 To make yourself blank in meditation creates an inner silence. On the quality of the aspiration depends the force that answers. Often people have a wish or a preference. When you sit in meditation you must be as candid as a child and not have any preferences.
04, p. 004-5 Concentration (to bring the threads of consciousness to single point) is not only an intellectual activity. The control over the nerves should be so complete that they “...allow you a complete concentration on what you are doing and, through the very intensity of your concentration, you acquire an immediate response to external touches. To attain this concentration you need a conscious control of the energies. Are you conscious of the energies you receive and those you spend?” Mother mentions 5 steps to achieve this. She ends with “And you must know how to give a real value to what you want to do—what the higher part of your being wants to do—for to do what one likes to do is not difficult.”
04, p. 007-8 The difference between meditation and concentration. Plain meditation is only a mental activity. “Concentration is a more active state, you may concentrate mentally, you may concentrate vitally, psychically, physically, and you may concentrate integrally....You may gather together one portion of your being or consciousness or you gather together the whole of your consciousness....If you have the capacity to concentrate, your meditation will be more interesting and easier.”
04, p. 008-9 If you sustain a perfect concentration long enough “a door opens and you pass beyond the limit of your ordinary consciousness—you enter into a deeper and higher knowledge. Or you go within. Then you may experience a kind of dazzling light, an inner wonder, a beatitude, a complete knowledge, a total silence....To have this experience all depends upon your capacity to maintain your concentration sufficiently long at its highest point of perfection.”.... “You must persevere in your concentration till you come to the point when you no longer lose the inner contact.” ... To attain that concentration much effort is necessary; an immediate or quick result is hardly possible. But if the inner door has once been opened, you may be sure it will open again if you know how to persevere.”
05, p. 042-45 This is a discussion of the right uses of meditation and concentration—(entering into union with the Divine, following an idea closely to see what it means)—and its pitfalls—(becoming vain for being able to sit still, entering state of unconsciousness and inertia, splitting the inner life from outer actions which remain as ordinary and vulgar as ever). Concentrated offering while one works is proposed as more effective for progress. To the extent that meditation is necessary it will come spontaneously.
05, p. 220-25 Mother tells how to progress through developing the power of concentration. Interesting and practical examples given which show how one already does this involuntarily and how to practice it more. Page 225 gives Mother's story of how Ramakrishna used to say that the time for identifying with the divine could vary between three days, three hours and three minutes. Three days for very slow people, three hours for those who were a little swifter, three minutes for those who are used to it.
05, p. 399-401 A discussion of the usefulness of developing the power of concentration and a method for doing it (methodical, daily practice in concentrating on a point). By doing it methodically one establishes conscious contact between the different parts of the being and then one can have experiences without forgetting anything, and even at will. (also under: 4.5.c)
06, p. 309 The best way to concentrate, once one has discovered that it is not so easy to do so because of thoughts and movements one had not previously been aware of, is “to remain very quiet and attentive to something which is above you and to which you aspire”, and if there is noise passing around you or thoughts going round and round, “do not look, do not pay attention, but concentrate upwards in a great aspiration which one may even formulate—because often it helps the concentration—towards the light, the peace, the quietude, towards a kind of inner impassiveness, so that the concentration may be strong enough for you not to attend to all that continues to whirl about all around.
06, p. 377-79 A discussion of what it means when one sees images when one closes the eyes to meditate. There are several possible sources of the images (i.e. projections of one’s own thoughts or seeing things in other domains) which one learns to distinguish through very quiet observation. In a general way, seeing images proves that the inner vision is beginning to develop or is developed.
06, p. 389 It is better to concentrate in the heart because if you concentrate there deeply enough, it is there that you enter into contact with the psychic … and because it is better to gather the energies there where you find the will to progress, the force of purification, and the most intense and effective aspiration.
06, p. 389fn “There is no other method in this Yoga except to concentrate, preferably in the heart, and call the presence and power of the Mother to take up the being and by the workings of her force transform the consciousness; one can concentrate also in the head or between the eyebrows, but for many this is a too difficult opening.”—Sri Aurobindo
07, p. 080-82 Here is a discussion of the causes of seeing unpleasant things in meditation. One may have opened one’s consciousness in a vital domain or it may be that movements from one’s own vital have gone out from one and return when one becomes still. It may be your own formation coming back in a violent form. Mother then describes the way to deal with this by keeping the correct attitude of calm, fearlessness and indifference and an absolute faith in the divine Grace. With these things established then it is good to have experiences.
07, p. 127-28 One of the results of developing the power of concentration is that one can considerably reduce the amount of time to do things. The first condition is to make yourself absolutely still and concentrate, concentrate, concentrate on the point you want to make on the work you have to do or the action you are about to perform…well it is like a kind of extremely quiet but all-powerful force of propulsion…and you can literally do in one quarter hour what would otherwise take one hour. Then you have time to relax completely for some minutes and have a total rest which relaxes anything that might have become tense and then you are ready for another concentrated effort. Developing this power of concentration is like weightlifting you become accustomed to it. (also under: 4.5.c)
07, p. 254 Concentration in the heart does not mean to think with the mind in the heart. Concentrate the energy, concentrate the consciousness, concentrate the aspiration, concentrate the will. One can have an extremely intense concentration without a single thought.
07, p. 272 The ability to concentrate with images is a useful facility for it is a means for fixing the action and making it more concrete which is necessary in the vital and the physical. Otherwise in the realm of mental ideas only, one’s progress is less definite. Mother then gives the example of a powerful concentration for entering into contact with one’s psychic being (sitting in front of a closed bronze door)
07, p. 275-76 Mother explains here about the value of concentrating on her photos and about the different effects of choosing different photos for the concentration. The part of one that answers to certain qualities will awaken and become receptive.
07, p. 276-78 This is a discussion of the differences between meditation and concentration and contemplation and the various forms they take. Examples are given such as meditating when one needs to take a decision or concentrating on a point. Contemplation is a state of passive opening upwards.
08, p. 088-89 Description of what is meant by a self-dynamising meditation. The most important thing is to know why one meditates; this is what gives the quality of the meditation and makes it of one order or another. Mother lists many possible reasons for meditating. And at the top of page 88 is quoted a dynamic meditation that Sri Aurobindo gave in Synthesis of Yoga (p. 104). It is a remembrance of the one central liberating knowledge: “In all is the one Self, the one Divine is all; all are in the Divine, all are the Divine and there is nothing else in the universe.” “This powerful meditation must and does in the end turn into a profound and uninterrupted vision and a vivid and all-embracing consciousness of that which we so powerfully remember or on which we so constantly meditate.”
08, p. 144-46 The supramental is now the light in the inner room. To see it one must enter the room. You must find the key. You sit down in front of a door and concentrate until you find the key or word or power to open it. If one doesn’t try, it doesn’t open by itself. You must sit there obstinately until you have found the means. You think of nothing else. Only the door. (also under: 4.3.2)
08, p. 228-29 “In order to concentrate and meditate one must do an exercise which I call the “mental muscle-building of concentration.” The same thing is true for the urge of prayer which must enthusiastically flame forth, be expressed words which, to be true, must be spontaneous. When the meditation begins to be mechanical or the ardour of the prayer wanes it is better to stop and to do something useful or to relax the mental tension with some exercise. By repeated efforts the capacity will automatically increase.
09, p. 037-39, 142 Mother tells here about collective meditations—what they have been and have intended to accomplish in the past and also what is the intent of collective meditations in the Ashram and how best to participate in them.
09, p. 052-53 Mother tells a Buddhist story about a meditation of Madame David-Neel on her travels to Tibet. The story illustrates the power of immobility because a tiger which saw her sitting under a tree did not attack her when she did not fear or move but returned to her immobile concentrated state.
09, p. 114-15 Mother tells the best way to receive during her collective meditations. The main thing is to concentrate in silence at the solar plexus centre with a flame of aspiration and be still and not to try to understand anything but just wait in a neutral silence. The result will not be immediate but after some time one will realize that something has taken a step forward on the path.
09, p. 378-83 This is an excellent discussion about different processes of meditation such as using imagery or a sentence as a focus point for one’s concentration and meditation.
14, p. 051-54 Short passages of light and guidance dealing with the subjects of meditation and concentration. Two examples: “Indeed the capacity and value of a man can be measured by his capacity of concentrated attention.” “When you sit in meditation you must be as candid and simple as a child, not interfering by your external mind, expecting nothing, insisting on nothing. Once this condition is there, all the rest depends upon the aspiration deep within you.”
14, p. 060 A sadhak describes and asks about a particular meditation he does in front of a flame. Mother tells him it is “an important step towards the psychic depths.”
16, p. 180 “Concentration does not mean meditation; on the contrary, concentration is a state one must be in continuously, whatever the outer activity. By concentration I mean that all the energy, all the will, all the aspiration must be turned only towards the Divine and His integral realization in our consciousness.” Also: “To keep constantly a concentrated and in-gathered attitude is more important than having fixed hours of meditation.”
16, p. 233b-34 Mother explains that meditation before different photos of her gives different experiences because “each one represents a different aspect, even a different personality of her being and by concentrating on the photo one enters into relation with that special aspect or personality... The photo is a real and concrete presence, but fragmentary and limited.”
16, p. 235 Mother tells the way to listen when one meditates with her music. “The music aims at awakening certain profound feelings.”
16, p. 283 How to have a dynamic meditation? Become sincere.
16, p. 312 Mother explains that there is not much use in making an effort during meditation. She advises that “to obtain mental silence one must learn to relax, to let oneself float on the waves of the universal force as a plank floats on water, motionless but relaxed.”
17, p. 014, 24 How should I meditate? “Fix your mind on the aspiration and dismiss everything else.” True meditation is not a state of inert passivity. “It is an active and deliberate concentration on the Divine Presence and a sustained, alert contemplation of that Sublime Reality”
  4.3.3    liberation (13)
06, p. 390-91 A description of what is meant by the “knot of ego” and methods for cutting it. She says to imagine the will as a very sharp sword blade and with all one’s force one strikes an imaginary blow on the knot. She also tells how to do this work from the psychological point of view, discovering all the elements constituting the knot and then by concentration calling in the divine Force and the Grace and strike a good blow on the formation. Then you must resolve only to do the Divine will. (also under: 2.3.c, 4.5)
06, p. 405 About liberating oneself from the movements of hurt pride, self-pity which are egoistic movements of weakness, narrow mindedness and small heartedness.” You can make use of your reason by telling yourself the truth: “in our being it is only egoism that suffers and that if there was no egoism there would be no suffering, and that if one wants the spiritual life, one must overcome his egoism.” So the first thing to do is to look straight at the suffering, perceive to what an extent it is the expression of a very petty egoism and then sweep the place clean.
07, p. 245-46 How can we escape from other people’s influence? You must first aspire with all your ardour to receive only the divine influence and continually use your will to place all other influences under the influence of the divine will. You can succeed (after years of practice) and can become a free being. For when you are completely surrendered to the Divine you become perfectly free. Mother describes in some detail what the practice is—a combination of will, persistence, self-observation, rejection of vital impulses with a great deal of ardour in the will, with faith that the victory is certain. (also under: 2.5.1.b)
08, p. 289-91 Here is a passage from Sri Aurobindo from Synthesis of Yoga about mans’s essential condition of life. Mother comments that if one can read it and see things in that way one is close to the solution and at the gates of liberation. Probably one of the first effects of the supermind will be to reveal things to the earth in the way described in this passage.
09, p. 117-19 Speaking about fasting and the need for food Mother describes the realisation of a true liberation which applies not only to eating but to sleeping and other things in a way in which the body is in harmony with the forces around and adaptive to any circumstances.
09, p. 420 Mother describes the process of the beginning of the liberation of the consciousness. The spiritual force jolts the mind’s natural self-satisfaction and when one experiences one’s ignorance in the presence of something truer and higher an aspiration awakens which is the beginning of liberation. But the mind must first feel the power, the beauty etc of the beyond to be able to surrender.
14, p. 108-09 Mother succinctly describes 3 modes of self-giving to the Divine accompanied by 3 formulas. This powerful method or practice can lead one to “a perfect identification, a dissolution of the ego, giving rise to a sublime felicity”. (also under: 4.3.2.g)
14, p. 202-03 Several short passages which show the true meaning and importance of liberation and freedom.
15, p. 129 “…to give up the body is not the absolute renunciation.The true and total renunciation is to give up the ego which is a much more arduous endeavour. If you have not renounced your ego, to give up the body will not bring freedom to you.” (also under: 4.3.2.h)
15, p. 199 Mother tells the “two complementary aspects of the liberating action of the Divine Grace upon earth among men…equally indispensable but not equally appreciated.” The immutable peace that liberates from anxiety, tension and suffering is universally recognized as Divine. “The dynamic all-powerful progress that liberates from fetters, bondages and inertia is welcomed only by those whose aspiration is intense and courageous.”
15, p. 391-94 Mother tells here about karma and how one can get liberated from it with the help of Grace and one’s own courage to stand fast. “With the supramental power, this [wiping out effects of karma] can be done without the need of going through all the steps [exhaustive purificatory acts] of the process of liberation.”
15, p. 419-23 After telling how surrender is the only way out of the difficult condition of the world and individuals Mother shows how surrender, presence of the Grace, liberation from attachments all fit together. She further tells how to respond when one feels that one is suffering. She defines the meaning of the true liberation. (also under: 4.3.2.g)
16, p. 304 “As the individuality perfects itself, the power of the ego diminishes, and indeed it is by perfecting himself that the individual arrives at that state of divinisation which liberates him from the ego.” (also under: 4.5)
  4.3.4    liberation and the reversal of consciousness (15)
03, p. 175-76 The Mother explains in short (one para each) what is True humility, what is Supramental plasticity related to the transformation of the body, what is Spiritual rebirth. “The supreme spiritual rebirth will be the bodily transformation.”... “To be reborn means to enter, first of all, into our psychic consciousness where we are one with the Divine and eternally free from the reactions of Karma. Without becoming aware of the psychic, it is not possible to do so... ‘
04, p. 018-9 “We want an integral transformation.” This includes the body and its activities. One cannot transform the body before the inner consciousness is firmly established in the Truth. “The starting-point of this transformation is receptivity. That is the indispensible condition for obtaining the transformation. Then comes the change of consciousness. This change of consciousness and its preparation have often been compared with the formation of the chicken in the egg....For a long time you have the impression that nothing is happening, that your consciousness is the same as usual, and, if you have an intense aspiration, you feel even a resistance....But when you are ready within, a last effort —the pecking in the shell of the being—and everything opens and you are projected into another consciousness.”.... “It is as though you were a ball turning inside out, which cannot be done except in the fourth dimension....Unless your consciousness changes its dimension, it will remain just what it is with the superficial vision of things, and all the profundities will escape you.” (also under: 4.7)
07, p. 195-96 When the question “But then what is myself?” comes up with enough concentration and intensity then a reversal occurs and suddenly you are on the other side and you know, you are, you live, and you see clearly the unreality of the rest. Just before this reversal one may have more and more acutely the feeling that things are unreal or strange with a sense of unreality. It is then that the question with its aspiration to know the truth comes up with sufficient intensity and concentration. to effect the reversal One may have to wait for days, months, years, centuries, lives before this comes but the occurrence itself can be done in a second. The experience is more concrete than a blow on the head—something more real than anything whatever.
07, p. 252-53 You must not mistake the feelings for the psychic—emotions and feelings have nothing to do with the psychic, they are the most subtle part of the vital. “It is not through the feelings that one goes to the psychic, it is through a very intense aspiration and self-detachment.” One should concentrate in the heart centre to enter into contact with the psychic—unless one’s consciousness has already risen above.
07, p. 270-72 Mother explains what is meant by the liberation of the psychic and talks about seeking the inner being and the psychic by concentrating on images as an effective means for discovery. One example is to sit in meditation and imagine one is in front of a closed bronze door and one sits before it with a will that it should open. One concentrates and pushes against it with one’s aspiration as with a beam of light until suddenly the door bursts open and one is plunged into an experience of light. This is a powerful means for entering into contact with one’s psychic being.
08, p. 172-74 Until the reversal of consciousness, experiences come and go. When the reversal occurs some part if the consciousness has become stabilized and no longer returns to what it was before. Mother gives analogies of a prism and also of a ball turned inside out. Tapasya may prepare one for it but the siddhi is given to you when the time is right and it happens suddenly.
08, p. 401-05 The real progress only can come through a total change of the whole consciousness, the intervention of a new force, a reversal of consciousness, a springing up out of the state in which one is towards a higher state from which one dominates all the weaknesses one wants to heal, and from which one has a full vision of the work to be accomplished. Only thus will victories no longer be changed into defeats. Mother answers the question: how to change one’s consciousness?
09, p. 135-36 Mother compares the process of new birth into the light to that of being shut up in a shell like a chick in an egg until all is ready and one can, by the Divine Grace, break the shell.
09, p. 286-87 There is a passage from The Life Divine where Sri Aurobindo talks about the reversal of consciousness. Mother compares the reversal with a prism—looking from one side the light is white and if you turn it over, it splits up into all its elements (colours). She then explains how the understanding will not come through words.
09, p. 335-38 First there is a page and a half passage from The Life Divine which includes a definition of spirituality and describes some of its preparatory stages. Then Mother tells what it is like when one finally has the true contact with one’s soul which is a true reversal and a new birth. She advises modestly starting on the way to this new birth first and realizing it before cherishing the illusion that one can have supramental experiences. After the new birth one can smile at the ego because one will not need it anymore—a result which brings a decisive sense of liberation.
09, p. 414-15 Mother describes the experience of a reversal of consciousness where suddenly something in the being has suddenly been turned completely inwards and at the same time upwards. The way of looking at life, the attitude one takes in relation to it, has suddenly changed—one no longer seeks, one sees, one no longer deduces, one knows and one no longer gropes, one walks straight to the goal.
10, p. 017-20 Commenting on one of Sri Aurobindo’s aphorisms, Mother tells the need for the experience of the reversal of consciousness and how to prepare for it by looking deeply within oneself every day in order to perceive a reality that is different from the reality perceived in the ordinary external consciousness. (also under: 2.2.1)
11, p. 215-16 Mother describes the state of being without the ego and responsive to the concrete, conscious Vastness above which is pressing down and knows what is to be done. The discussion actually begins on p. 213 with Mother describing how the consciousness acts through herself regarding practical action in life and work. It is the mind that interferes for most of us. “That is the most difficult thing: to learn to disappear.”
12, p. 080-81 Mother describes the reversal of consciousness and how it is different from the ordinary consciousness or even from a partial change of consciousness.
15, p. 388-90 “When we begin to live the spiritual life, a reversal of consciousness takes place…. Another reversal…occurs when one enters the supramental world.” She explains the phenomenon: “a series of reversals bringing about, step by step, an ever new richness of creation so that whatever has preceded it appears poor in comparison”