WRITINGS BY THE MOTHER
© Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust

My adored Mother, Sri Aurobindo's last letter made me think much. The most obvious sign of the action of an adverse force--it is this that I want to learn to see in myself and others. [old p. 188]

1st sign: One feels far away from Sri Aurobindo and me.
2nd: One loses confidence, begins to criticise, is not satisfied.
3rd: One revolts and sinks into falsehood.

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Do not grieve. Always the same battle must be won several times, especially when it is waged against the hostile forces. That is why one must be armed with patience and keep faith in the final victory.

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My beloved Mother, can the adverse forces act effectively against the terrestrial evolution without using a human being as an intermediary?

It is not impossible, but it is easier for them to find a human instrument.

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It is good to be confident and to have a living and steady faith. But in the matter of the adverse forces, it is good to be always vigilant and sincere.

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Mother, what attitude should I take towards women? There is a part in me which prompts me to go to X. This recalcitrant part advises me to do so, telling me that this is the best means of overcoming an attraction, whether small or great.

This is childish; it is always the same trap of the adverse forces; [old p. 189]if, instead of expressing their advice under cleverly perverted forms, they were to speak of things as they are, it would come to something like this: "Continue to drink in order to stop being a drunkard" or better: "Continue to kill to stop being a murderer!"

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One must never be afraid, and if the adverse forces try to lodge themselves in your lower nature, you have only to dislodge them, calling me to your help.

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Mother, last night I had a nightmare and was almost frightened.

One must never be afraid. Even in your sleep you must be able to remember me and call me to your help if there is some danger. You will see that the nightmares will vanish.

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It seemed to me that there was someone in my room who wanted to suck my blood; I wanted to stretch my left hand to him so that he could do so.

If you start feeding the adverse forces, they will exact more and more and will never be satisfied.

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Y told me that very often he becomes an instrument of the adverse forces. [old p. 190]

Much of this is his own imagination; if he thought less of these so-called vital beings, most of them would be immediately dissolved.

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If I can remain peaceful in the face of all circumstances, I can be sure that the hostile force is far from me.

Yes, on condition that the "peace" is not that of a hardening but of a conscious force.

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Mother, I do not quite understand what a peace of "hardening" means.

I am speaking of the peace experienced by those who are utterly insensible and indifferent to the misfortunes of the world and the suffering of others, those who have turned their hearts to stones and are incapable of compassion.

Collected Works of The Mother, First Edition, Volume 16, pp. 187-90