WRITINGS BY THE MOTHER
© Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust

Love for all

Mother, in the letter below Sri Aurobindo has written about the necessity of restricting our contacts with the outside world and separating ourselves from the ordinary life, in order to carry on our special work of bringing down a new consciousness for the earth.

This letter was written in 1933. But now all types of people from the outside world are freely allowed to come to the Ashram, and the sadhaks of the Ashram also freely mix with them. Is it because we have now reached a new stage in our work in which the earlier restrictions in our contacts with the outside world are no longer necessary? Will you please enlighten me on this point?

(Question to Sri Aurobindo)

"Love of the Divine in all beings and the constant perception and acceptance of its workings in all [old p. 152]things" [Note: Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga.]--if this is one of the ways of realising the Divine and seeing Him in all, why do we here restrict our contacts [new p. 147]with people in the outside world? Why can we not give our love to all?

(Reply of Sri Aurobindo)

That is all right in the ordinary Karma yoga which aims at union with the cosmic spirit and stops short at the overmind--but here a special work has to be done and a new realisation achieved for the earth and not for ourselves alone. It is necessary to stand apart from the rest of the world so as to separate ourselves from the ordinary consciousness in order to bring down a new one.

It is not that love for all is not part of the sadhana, but it has not to translate itself at once into a mixing with all--it can only express itself in a general and when need be dynamic universal goodwill, but for the rest it must find vent in this labour of bringing down the higher consciousness with all its effect for the earth. As for accepting the working of the Divine in all things that is necessary here too in the sense of seeing it even behind our struggles and difficulties, but not accepting the nature of man and the world as it is--our aim is to move towards a more divine working which will replace what now is by a greater and happier manifestation. That too is a labour of divine Love. [Note: Letters on Yoga, Cent. Vol. 23, p. 851.]

22 October 1933

What Sri Aurobindo has written is absolutely true and must be followed.

There is only one new fact--from the beginning of this [old p. 153]year a new consciousness has manifested and is working energetically to prepare the earth for the new creation.

17 April 1969

Collected Works of The Mother, First Edition, Volume 13, pp. 151-53